


I'll Love You When No One Else Will

by Reltic



Series: Of Decaf Coffee and Spilt Milk [1]
Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bang Chan is a Good Friend, But not Felix and Changbin, Changbin is too nice, Cheating, Denial of Feelings, Developing Relationship, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Manipulation, Explicit Language, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Getting Together, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Hyunjin Jisung and Minho are the 'Helpful' trio, I really tried, I'm sorry if anything sounds weird I'll try to fix it, Lee Felix (Stray Kids) is a Sweetheart, Lee Felix (Stray Kids)-centric, M/M, Not Beta Read, Protect Felix 2020, Protective Bang Chan, Protective Seo Changbin, Seo Changbin is Whipped, Soft Seo Changbin, Sweet Felix, changlix
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-02
Updated: 2020-09-02
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:41:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 26,562
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26243593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Reltic/pseuds/Reltic
Summary: “Oh, you’re going with someone? Who else?”“Yeah that’s who the second coffee is for,” Felix giggled in that deep ass voice of his, “His name is Jae, he’s my boyfriend.”Suddenly, everything stopped. Hyunjin’s sharpie paused in the middle of the giant E in Felix’s name, Changbin felt his lungs stop moving, and both boys stared at Felix with large unblinking eyes.“Your boyfriend, huh?”---Or: Changbin unintentionally falls for a taken man, but the taken man may or may not have a cheating boyfriend.
Relationships: Bang Chan & Lee Felix, Everyone & Everyone, Hwang Hyunjin/Kim Seungmin, Lee Felix & Seo Changbin, Lee Felix/Original Male Character, Lee Felix/Seo Changbin
Series: Of Decaf Coffee and Spilt Milk [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1938283
Comments: 17
Kudos: 368





	I'll Love You When No One Else Will

**Author's Note:**

> My first post to Stray Kids!

The first time he sees him, the boy is alone. He’s not just a boy, but a blonde freckled god who came down straight from the heavens to grace this run down coffee shop with his presence- at least according to Changbin’s coworker Hyunjin that is.

Changbin agrees, but like hell is he gonna say that outloud. He’ll just whisper it to himself as he makes this Decaf Non Fat Light Foam Skinny Vanilla Latte with absolutely no whipped cream even though the damn drink doesn’t even _come_ with whipped cream-

“Binnie, you’re glaring at the espresso machine again,” Minho states as he passes the bar, arms full of cups to restock before the morning rush.

“I mean, you’d be glaring at the espresso machine too if you had to deal with this lady’s mobile order,” Hyunjin helpfully supplied from where he leaned against the counter, sipping at his own iced americano, “She yells at us almost every morning for messing up _something_. I’m convinced she just wants to yell to hear her own voice.”

“If she gives you so much trouble why haven’t you mentioned it to me before,” Minho asks as he narrows his eyes at Hyunjin slumped form, “And damn it Hyunjin, quit drinking your coffee upfront. Take it to the back before I fire your ass.”

“Wow, he offers to help and threatens to fire me all in the same breath,” Hyunjin sighed dramatically as he forced his body away from the counter and slowly slumped to the employee’s only door, “The disrespect in this place is intolerable!”

Minho ignores him, busying himself with pushing the paper cups into their designated slots as Changbin lids the drink he was working on. Just as he was placing the cup on the mobile order tray, the customer barged through the door with large steps that looked entirely uncomfortable in her black heels. She had barely reached the handoff plane before she was sneering at the cup she had yet to touch.

“Who made this drink?” She asks unkindly, throwing accusatory glares at the only two workers behind the counter. Neither had a chance to answer her before Hyunjin came back out to join them and the lady began pointing her red fingernail at the unaware employee.

“I knew it was him! He never knows what he’s doing!”

“What?” Hyunjin gave the other two an exasperated look, “I was gone for literally 10 seconds, why is she yelling at me?”

“Ma’am, he didn’t make your drink,” Minho tried to reason with the lady who was only growing increasingly more agitating, “And I’m not sure I understand what the problem is with it?”

“It had to be him! He always gives me whipped cream when he’s on shift!” 

“No he doesn’t lady,” Changbin growled out, surprising not only the customer but his two friends behind the counter, “I made your drink the last five days with no whipped cream and you still complained. And how would you know if it had any if you haven’t even touched the damn thing yet?”

The woman stood in disbelief for a second, mimicking the open mouthed astonishment the other two were showing. It wasn't often Changbin got angry, wasn’t often that he snapped at people or was anything other than a “chill dude” as Jisung says, but it was 4 am, Changbin was tired, and he was not in the mood for this shit.

The woman recovered herself, turning a blind rage towards the dark harried boy. Her pupils were dilated, almost as black as what Changbin imagined her soul looked like. If a woman as cruel and selfish as she even had one. Was he being dramatic? Probably. But he honestly didn’t care because as far as he was concerned this woman was a demon with bad taste in coffee.

“I have a severe dairy allergy-”

“You drink non fat milk,” Changbin interrupted her with a straight face, but Hyunjin had a hard time keeping his amusement contained as he could be heard struggling to suppress a laugh.

The lady shot Hyunjin a pointed glare accompanied with a huff of annoyance, “I need my caffeine in the morning-”

“Yet you drink decaf?” Changbin challenged her, and he let the corner of the mouth twitch upwards as Hyunjin lost it behind him, the younger finding great enjoyment at this lady finally being put in her place.

“You don’t get to talk to me like this! I’ll have you fired!”

“Oh will you now?” Minho snickered, “He’s my employee, and I’m not firing him on your behalf.”

For a moment, Chagnbin wasn’t sure if the lady was going to continue arguing or just walk away. She had a brief staredown with Changbin, neither willing to back down and Minho doing nothing to stop them. Looking back, provoking her may not have been the best decision as it ended up with her taking the still steaming hot cup of coffee and splashing it directly on his chest.

At the same time as Changbin stumbled back with a hiss as the steamed milk soaked through to his skin, Minho was shouting at the lady to leave the premises. Threats of police intervention were thrown around the room until eventually the woman loudly stomped her heels through the door. Minho gave a lengthy curse at her retreating figure at the same time as Hyunjin burst out of the back room with the first aid kit in hand.

“Damn Binnie, you okay?” Minho asked as Changbin groaned at the milky mess the rude customer left on his apron, “That drink was still pretty hot. Did it burn you?”

“I’m fine,” Changbin tried to assure his friend but with the unapproving look Minho was shooting him, the younger sighed before telling the unfiltered truth, “Yeah it probably burned me a bit. I won’t know until I take off my shirt.”

“Maybe if you take off your shirt you’ll entice Mr. Freckled God into your arms,” Hyunjin teased, earning him a grunt from Changbin and a raised eyebrow from Minho.

“Who’s Mr. Freckled God and why does it sound like you want to seduce him with Changbin’s body?”

“Well his name’s Felix to be precise,” Hyunjin explained as he pulled Changbin and Minho into the back room. They still have an hour or so before the large morning rush comes in, and if anyone does arrive the bell chime can always tell them they have a customer, “And he was the cutest thing I’ve even seen. Binnie was head over heels for him the moment their eyes met.”

“Don’t tell Seungmin you said that,” Changbin muttered but didn’t refute his friend's claim.

Because really, Felix was the cutest boy Changbin had ever met. They barely shared more than a few words together, but his dimpled smile and constellation freckles had captivated his attention the moment he walked into the cafe. He was tiny, yet still just a bit taller than him. His laugh was sweet, mixed with honey and flowers but his eyes held the stars. He wished he had the opportunity to talk more to the boy before his drink was called and he headed for the door, because Changbin wasn’t sure if he would be able to see him again unless he stopped by the cafe during his shifts.

“Ow!” Changbin flinched in pain as Minho dabbed something on his skin. Hyunjin had taken his soiled shirt and left it hanging over the office chair they used for their breaks as he dug through his back pack for a replacement.

“Sorry,” Minho smirked as he pulled back from Changbin to look at him with a knowing glint in his eye, “You were daydreaming so I thought it’d be safe to start torturing you with peroxide.”

“Are we sure you aren’t really Satan?” Changbin mumbled as he allowed Minho to resume rubbing the disinfectant over his red skin, “Because if I had to imagine a humanoid Satan, he would be the owner of a shitty coffee shop and have three cats for a roommate.”

“Hmm, good question,” Minho hums but doesn’t argue Changbins hypothesis. The two younger employees slowly made eye contact over Minho's shoulder, both with a bewildering horror as Hyunjin mouthed, “ _Did he just agree?_ ”

“Hyunjin did you find a shirt?” Minho asked without turning to look at their floundering faces.

Hyungjin quickly shook off his shock and walked over to the two with a white t-shirt in hand, “Luckily I had planned to go to the dance studio after work and had an extra change of clothes.”

“It’s white,” Changbin cringed as he retrieved the too light colored clothing from the other.

“Oh I’m sorry my wardrobe isn’t 95% dark and brooding like yours,” Hyunjin said mockingly as he made his way back to the front to clean the puddle of steamed milk, “I swear no one appreciates me here.”

“We love you Hyunjin,” both Minho and Changbin chanted together as said boy passed through the door. They were far too familiar with Hyunjins dramatics, and it was easier to give in than to start anything. Besides, it’s fine for them to give each other appreciation every now and then.

“So,” Minho said with a heavy breath through his nose, “Should I expect a lawsuit on my desk any time soon?”

“Hyung, what the fuck?” Changbin snorted as he pulled on a clean apron over his new white t-shirt. The burn wasn’t too bad, since the apron prevented the heat from reaching him too badly, but it was still uncomfortable, “You know it wasn’t your fault that lady went crazy.”

“Have to cover my bases,” Minho shrugged but had a small smile as he pulled Changbin with him through the door.

Changbin barely passed the threshold when he saw Felix’s face again, stunning and breathtaking as before. He was here so early, only 4:30. He looked just as tired as Changbin felt, but he still looked ethereal. His hair was swept over his forehead, soft and fluffy as it bounced with his movements. He was at the front counter, speaking with Hyunjin about something that had his coworker nodding along intently.

Changbin wordlessly made his way over to the pair, intending to pretend to read over Hyunjin shoulder what Felix wanted to order while actually just eavesdropping on their conversation. It was a great excuse he and Hyunjin used often, and honestly after the morning Changbin’s had he felt like he could use a little cheering up by listening to an actual angel talk.

“So you’re going on a trip?” Hyunjin asked Felix as he pulled out a medium ice cup and slowly wrote his name in large block letters, another great way to stall a conversation enough for the baristas to milk some extra time with their customers when they desired.

“Yeah, but just for the day. That’s why I’m here so early, we have to get a head start,” Felix’s voice vibrated through the air. It was so deep and did not match his face at all, but Changbin loved it.

“Oh, you’re going with someone? Who else?” Hyunjin asked as he pulled the cup on the counter and pulled out a second one.

“Yeah that’s who the second coffee is for,” Felix giggled, he _giggled_ in that deep ass voice of his, “His name is Jae, he’s my boyfriend.”

Suddenly, everything stopped. Hyunjin’s sharpie paused in the middle of the giant E in Felix’s name, Changbin felt his lungs stop moving, and both boys stared at Felix with large unblinking eyes.

“Your boyfriend, huh?” Hyunjin asked blankly, still unmoving.

While both baristas were boring holes into the customer that had taken up too much of Changbins mental capacity lately, Felix was growing more and more uncomfortable. Changbin could see the shift in his eyes, replacing the stars with panic as his gaze darted between the two, “S-sorry if that makes you uncomfortable. I should have thought about that before bringing that up.”

It came to Changbin then that their uncharacteristic actions seemed a lot like they were shocked silent by the knowledge that Felix had a boyfriend in a completely different way than they meant.Yes, Changbin was surprised, and slightly disappointed, that Mr. Freckled God had a boyfriend. But that was only because he was interested in him, infatuated more than anything else if he had to be honest. Not because he was actually a homophobe who was going to damn him to hell for dating a guy.

“Wait you got us wrong,” Changbin quickly tried to do damage control before Felix shrunk away from them in fear and embarrassment, “We don’t mind that. Like, that you like guys.”

“Yeah, I’m as straight as silly string,” Hyunjin announced brightly, “That’s extremely not straight by the way.”

The look of relief that passed through Felix’s features let them both calm down significantly. He let a small awkward laugh escape his lips as his fingers ran through his fluffy hair, “Man I was sure you were gonna kick me out or something.”

“Nah that’s stupid,” Hyunjin waved him off, pushing the two empty cups towards the espresso bar for Changbin to work on, “Who you date shouldn’t be anyone’s business. So how long have you two been together?”

“It’s coming up to 6 months,” Felix responded happily, and Changbin couldn’t help the slight envy that was weighing down his heart.

He really had no right to be jealous, he barely knew Felix and had no claim to him. He was just a cute guy with a sexy ass voice that just so happened to be Changbin’s type. That’s all, and it isn’t like Changbin was gonna lose sleep over the cute boy with freckles that immediately won over his heart just by giving him a smile. Nope, he could get rid of this silly little crush in a heartbeat.

He gave Felix a bright smile as he handed over the two cups of coffee, one much sweeter than the other. Changbin had an inkling that one belonged to Felix, he just looked like a sweet tooth kind of guy.

Hyunjin and Changbin watched as Felix walked through the door and into the passenger seat of a small car parked outside the building. They could see an outline of a person on the driver hand side, most likely the aforementioned boyfriend that had captured the angel before Changbin could.

“Why do you two look like someone kicked your puppy?” Minho questioned as he flew from the back with a large box of coffee beans prepackaged to be sold.

Hyunjin groaned as Minho began restocking the lobby displays with the professionally labeled bags, “Mr. Freckled God is taken and now Changbin has no chance of getting his man.”

Changbin wanted to say Felix wasn’t “His Man” but he couldn’t get the words past his lips. It isn’t something to be heartbroken over, and he isn’t. Felix is just a boy that he’ll get over eventually. But it doesn’t mean it didn’t put a damper on his already sour mood.

“So now I have to worry about getting sued for physical _and_ emotional damages?” Minho muttered loudly as he paused his shelf stocking, throwing a curled fist into the air, “Curse you Mr. Freckled God.”

Changbin chuckled, at least his friends always tried their best to cheer him up.

* * *

A month passed, and in that time Mr. Freckled God, or Felix as Minho had finally remembered was his real name, was coming by the cafe much more frequently than anyone thought he would. After Hyunjin and Changbin had nearly murdered him with their unexplained shock that one fateful morning, they were surprised to see Felix returning to the cafe more and more with each passing week.

Changbin learned a lot about Felix in that time. Apparently he was younger than Changbin and worked as a dance instructor for a small studio. His classes were usually for younger kids but he said he takes every essence of dance just as seriously as any other, so the kids were in good hands. Changbin loved to delve into conversation with the boy about what his next choreography would be, about one of his kids entering a children's dance competition, and even about his sore muscles the day after a double class. Each day he entered the cafe, he stayed longer than the last. He would curl up in the corner of the lobby with a book or a laptop to keep him company until either of the shop employee’s would join him during their break.

They developed a strange relationship, one that revolved around Changbin working at the cafe and Felix being a customer, but the older didn’t mind it one bit. Even though his heart hurt a bit at the knowledge Felix wasn’t and could never be his, Changbin forced it to the back of his mind. He genuinely liked Felix now, more than before when he only felt attracted to his appearance. He liked the Felix that laughed at stupid jokes, the Felix that wore scarves in the building because he was just too damn cold, the Felix that loved to dance and cared about others.

But he could also like Felix as a friend. Just because Changbin wanted more, doesn’t mean he wants to ruin something beautiful for Felix. Felix was happy with another boy, and Changbin would be happy for him. Because as long as Felix was happy, Changbin was too. His own feelings could screw off.

Changbin only met “Jae The Infamous Boyfriend” (Also Courtesy of Hyunjin) once, and it was by far the shortest meeting Changbin had had with Felix ever since he first stepped foot in the coffee shop. Jae was strangely quiet, barely muttering much more than a few words to Felix, let alone the two baristas on shift. Hyunjin had tried to ask him about his day, whether he enjoyed warm or cold weather, what his favorite animal was, or any other typical 20-questions-esqe-get-to-know-me forms would ask, yet everything was blatantly ignored.

Felix gave them an apologetic grimace as he paid for the two coffees and was quickly whisked away by Jae to wait against the wall. Changbin was obviously confused, as usually Felix would stand in front of the bar as Changbin made his drinks so the two could talk before he wound up in his seat in the corner. Instead the boy was teetering back and forth on his feet anxiously, watching his boyfriend with concern as the taller was too busy paying attention to the smartphone in his hands.

Jae didn’t even muster a friendly smile as Felix’s name was called by Changbin, just grabbing the two cups before Felix could reach them and dragging Felix out of the cafe with his eyes still stuck on his phone screen. Changbin wasn’t sure if Jae was even aware of Changbin and Hyunjins existence since he seemed to be tuning out the entire world, his angel of a boyfriend included.

“Am I the only one who thought he was a dick?” Hyunjin asked aloud, offense coloring his tone as he watched the awkward couple load into the car.

It was light outside, and Changbin could properly see Felix and Jae in the small car unlike the morning the two went on their trip. The two were sitting in the same seats as the last time he saw them together. Felix in the passenger seat, slowly sipping at his iced coffee as Jae left his untouched. Changbin couldn’t help but wonder what was so important on this guy's phone to be so oblivious of what was going on around him.

“Nope, he’s a total dick,” Minho announced as he appeared around the corner from the bathrooms with a handful of cleaning supplies, “Absolute asshole of a boyfriend. Let’s give him decaf next time.”

“Do you even know what happened?” Changbin asked, shooting the cafe owner an unimpressed stare, “You were in the bathroom the whole time.”

“Not a clue,” Minho responded as he lifted the mop a few inches into the air in time with his voice, “But! My gut tells me he’s a prick. Let’s poison him.”

“You can’t poison all your enemies Hyung,” Changbin shook his head fondly. Honestly it was mystery how Minho hadn’t committed murder yet, the guy was full of wild ideas and cryptic threats that Changbin was convinced he had a tie in with mafia at some point.

Either that or Minho just had really weird humor.

“If you don’t stop the competition before they stop you, you’re doomed,” Minho continued as he passed through to the back room.

Changbin and Hyunjin let their gaze linger on the closing employee door for a moment before Hyunjin suddenly jumped. He let out a gasp as he turned to Changbin with so much excitement it had scared him. That much enthusiasm only ever meant danger, and Changbin did not want to be caught up in another one of Hyunjins schemes.

“Do you think Minho-Hyung means you should get rid of Jae so you can be the ‘New Boyfriend’?”

“I’m not getting rid of him,” Changbin quickly declined, shaking his hands in front of him to emphasise his desire to do anything but that, “I can’t get involved in their relationship Jinnie, that’s not my place.”

Hyunjin’s form crumbled as soon as he spoke, “But Binnie! Minho-Hyung said to stop the competition before they stop you! What if Jae stops you?! What is it he’ll stop, Binnie?!”

“First of all,” Changbin placed a hand on Hyunjins shoulder to calm the younger and raised his other hand to show his pointer finger, “Did you forget I’m your hyung too? Show some respect, Asshole.”

Hyunjin groaned in response as Changbin let a second finger join the first one, “Secondly, what is there to stop? Is he gonna kill me for making his coffee? He didn’t even look at us, I’m sure he doesn’t know we even exist.”

Hyunjin gave a weak shrug and a vocal ‘eh’ in retaliation as Changbin brought up his third and final finger, “Thirdly, I’m not gonna interfere with Felix’s relationship. We don’t know him or Jae well enough to judge their weird… dynamic they have going on.”

“Ha!” Hyunjin lunged out of Changbins hold to point an accusatory finger at him, looking just as crazy as Changbin knew he was, “So you admit it’s weird!”

“That’s besides the point,” Changbin sighed in defeat as he rubbed his hand over his face, pressing a little harder against his eye sockets to massage away the headache he could feel forming, “What I think of them doesn’t matter because I barely know anything about them, okay? It’s none of our business.”

“What’s none of your business?”

Changbin flinched at the unexpected voice, but Hyunjin only grinned at the person in front of the register. Hyunjin rushed to the counter to lean his body over the register, his face too close to Jisungs personal bubble but the other didn’t seem to mind, “Jisung! Is your shift about to start? Are we working together?”

“Yeah, I take over for Binnie-Hyung” Jisung chuckled as he threw his apron over his shoulder, “Do you even look at the schedule? How do you make it to work on time?”

“Luck?” Hyunjin guessed aloud.

“Like you’re any better,” Changbin cut in as he pulled Hyunjin off of the poor computer he was putting his entire body weight on, “How many times did you forget you had to work and asked me to cover for you?”

“Enough to prove you love me?” Jisung asked hopefully, raising the pitch in his tone with each word.

“Am I the only sane one who works here?” Changbin pointed his question to no one, but both of his coworkers resounded with a ‘probably’ and ‘sane is boring’ at his despair.

“Wait you guys never answered my question!” Jisung explained with his palms pushing on the counter as he bounced impatiently, “What’s none of your business?”

“If it’s none of our business what makes it your business?” Changbin retorted, but Jisung ignored him.

Changbin didn’t expect Hyunjin to remain quiet, yet he still gave an annoyed grunt as the overly excited boy told Jisung every detail of the last 30 minutes. Jisung listened intently, nodding along and giving shouts of indignation when necessary. The younger had already learned of all the interactions Changbin had with Felix, and was eagerly waiting by Hyunjins side for things to finally turn in Changbins favor. It was infuriating to have them breathing down his neck, especially since he didn’t want to do anything about his not-crush in the first place.

“I agree with Minho- Hyung, decaf for the asshole boyfriend,” Jisung declared as Hyunjin began pushing in Jisungs regular order to the touch screen computer. Changbin started making the beverage without reading the sticker, his squirly friend never got anything different than usual anyways.

“We aren’t gonna do anything, it’s not our place,” Changbin repeated as he swirled Jisungs cup under the steaming stream of espresso, letting the coffee mix with the syrup on the bottom of the cup, “I’m sure their relationship is just fine, we’re just overthinking things.”

“Or,” Jisung skipped behind the counter to hover by Changbin as he diligently filled the ice cup with milk, “You’re saving Mr. Freckled God from a lifetime of misery by intervening in his screwed up love life. Then, you become the hero he falls in love with.”

“Sungie, please,” Changbin begged, and he wasn’t above admitting that he had to beg these two idiots to shut up nearly every day, “I don’t even like Felix that way anymore, okay?”

They all knew he was lying, but they had been letting him pretend for far too long that he wasn’t still fawning over Felix every time he walked through the door. That he wasn’t paying extra attention to his voice as he told the details of his day, that he wasn’t purposely giving Felix discounts every time he came in, that he wasn’t looking forward to seeing his smile when he clocked on each morning.

“Yeah, and I’m not gay,” Hyunjin crossed his arms as he spat out his response, “And in case you didn’t know, I’m _really_ gay.”

“Yeah, did you know his profile picture on Twitter is him making out with Seungmin?” Jisung pointed at Hyunin as he took a sip of his coffee, “You gotta stop lying to yourself, Binnie-Hyung.”

“I’m sorry that I’m the only decent guy that works here. I’m not trying to be a homewrecker,” Changbin turned away from the two, busying himself with cleaning the bar in their downtime before his shift ended, “If Felix doesn’t like Jae anymore, that’s his decision to make.”

“You’re gonna regret that,” Minho startled them as he joined the crew back out front, his hands on his hips as he approached the group, “You should’ve gone with the poison.”

No one said anything for a moment, Changbin choosing to let his last few minutes on the floor end with him reflecting on what he had done to warrant such a group of friends that like to meddle in his love life so terribly. The others seemed to be feeling a little merciful after what had transpired that they let him work in peace, giving each other side glances of curiosity. 

That is until Minho huffed in annoyance at the squirly boy with an iced coffee in his hands.

“Jisung, go drink your fucking coffee in the back.”

* * *

Needless to say, Changbin did regret not sabotaging Jae sooner. But like hell was he going to admit defeat to Minho. It was another two months of Felix spending too much of his time at the cafe that Changbih started to get worried.

It was November when Felix had spent nearly the entire day at the cafe, alternating between reading on his laptop and staring at the window in the corner of the lobby. Jisung and Hyunjin had both sat with him during their breaks, but the boy was uncharacteristically silent. His responses were normally enthusiastic, polite, and attentive, but today it seemed more like his mind was wandering. Like he wasn’t entirely present during the conversations.

Hyunjin, the usually hyperactive boy he was, tried his best to lure Felix back out of his shell. But the blonde angel remained closed off to the world.

“Maybe someone died?” Jisung suggested in a muted voice to avoid being overheard by the only customer in the cafe. It was almost closing time, only 30 minutes until 8pm, yet Felix remained unmoved by the window, his coffee melted and warmed up to room temperature as the boy stared off at nothing.

“Don’t be insensitive,” Changbin warned, shooting a concerned glance at Felix again, “We shouldn’t pry if he doesn’t want us to.”

“Maybe you should ask him what's up,” Hyunjin offered, but the tone he used was more like a demand than a request.

“Didn’t I just say we shouldn’t pry?” Changbin muttered.

He hated talking about Felix like this, especially when the boy was only a few yards away, looking dead to the world. It was unlikely he even noticed they were talking, but he still felt guilty. Something was bothering Felix, and Changbin wished he could help, wished he could fix it, but there wasn’t anything he could do without forcing Felix to talk and he wasn’t sure he could do that.

He cared about the younger, much more than a friend should, and he still barely knew more than a distant friend would about Felix’s life. It would be rude of him to insert himself in Felix’s life when he was obviously suffering.

“Would you stop overthinking things?” Minho interrupted his thought process as he nudged Changbin with his shoulder, “You’re too afraid of messing up with the kid that you’re stuck in a rut. How are you gonna get anywhere if you keep trying to play it safe?”

Changbin gave an undignified squawk making Minho roll his eyes, “Binnie, you like him, quit telling us you don’t. Something’s wrong, and the kind thing to do is see if he’s okay. It’s not rude just because you don’t know him well enough.”

“You would know him better if you quit hiding from him,” Hyungjin hummed as he pointedly avoided eye contact with Changbin.

“That too,” Minho agreed, which made Hyunjin snicker victoriously, “Quit being a scaredy cat and face your fears. Talk to your man, win your man, steal your man from the asshole boyfriend.”

“God Hyung, we get it you like cats,” Jisung whined, “Just say pussy and quit tip toeing around the word.”

“That word is an insult to cats,” Minho sneered in response, giving Jisung a look of disbelief, “I can’t believe you would say it in my presence. I condemn you.”

“Wait,” Changbin jolted as he let Minhos' words sink in, the other three twisting their heads to face the disgruntled boy, “I thought I said I’m not ‘stealing’ him from Jae. That’s not my place and we don’t know if he’s an asshole at all.”

“Changbin,” Minho grabbed the younger by his shoulders, looking him in the eyes for a minute before shaking his friend with large swings timed with his words, “You’re an idiot.”

Changbin barely had a chance to question what he meant before Minho was speaking again, “Jae. Is. An. Asshole. Felix spends more time here than with him, and he’s depressed without his boyfriend here to cheer him up. Wouldn’t a good boyfriend be there for this sad boyfriend?”

That was a good point.

“Now, go get your mans,” Minho said as he shoved Changbin towards the edge of the counter, “Don’t worry about closing, we’ll handle it.”

Minho gave him one last shove, making him skid to a stop a few feet past the bar and into the wooden lobby floors. Felix hadn’t noticed him, still too busy staring out the window at the night sky as his head rested against his arms. Changbin gave one more glance over his shoulder to see the three others giving him a thumbs up sign. Chan gave a pathetic attempt at a smile that ended up looking more like a pained grimace than anything else, and made his way to the table Felix had taken residence at.

Felix didn’t raise his head as Changbin sat across from him, it was as if he really had no idea what was going on around him. The eyes that previously held the stars were glazed over, his soft fluffy hair was flat and slightly greasy, his skin was blotchy and his lips looked torn up as if he was biting them.

But he still looked stunning, absolutely beautiful.

Changbin cleared his throat to announce his presence, and luckily that was enough to break Felix out of his momentary trance.

“Oh, are you guys closing?” Felix shot straight up, looking around at the empty cafe. Changbin noticed him looking at the other three people working but luckily they had busied themselves with closing tasks by the time Felix had come back to awareness.

“No we still have about 30 minutes,” Changbin assured, watching with worry as Felix slumped back in his chair, breathing a sigh of relief.

“Oh okay,” Felix looked at the table he had been occupying, eyeing his untouched coffee with distaste, “Well I should probably head out-”

“Wait!” Changbin nearly shouted, putting a hand up to prevent Felix from leaving.

Felix had barely turned his body when Changbin stopped him, giving the older wide eyes but listening either way. He settled himself back in his seat, giving his full attention to the other, “Yes?”

Changbin felt himself shaking his leg as the nerves rolled through his body. He didn’t know what he was doing, he had avoided doing this for so long. He had made it so terribly clear that he wasn’t going to interfere in Felix’s relationship because that was selfish of him, it was cruel for him to ruin something good for Felix just because he was jealous.

But Felix wasn’t okay, he was sad and Changbin needed to help. He didn’t have to help as a romantic interest, he could help as a friend. He could approach this from an unbiased perspective and give him genuine advice without letting his feelings intervene, right?

“Are you okay?”

Changbin mental cringed at the confused face Felix gave. The younger tilted his head, “Yeah, I’m fine. Why?”

“It’s just…” Changbin rang his hand nervously through the other, pulling on each finger to ease his nerves just the slightest bit, “You’ve seemed kind, down? And like something’s wrong?”

Felix stared at Changbin with that ‘deer caught in the headlights’ look, except it was tinged with panic. Changbin had to fight back his urge to run away before he got anything further in the conversation. He had never wanted to force Felix to do anything in fear of accidentally letting his own jealousy take over, because if Felix was truly happy then Changbin wouldn’t let his own heartbreak guilt Felix into making a mistake. Felix was a ray of sunshine, and Changbin was just the coffee guy. Granted, he really didn’t know Jae or whether he was a good guy, but when Felix first mentioned his boyfriend of 6 months he seemed so excited to share the news.

But now it’s been three months, Changbin has been ignoring his feelings for the boy he’s only grown more fond of, and Felix has been wasting away his time in this corner booth without his boyfriend anywhere in sight. Changbin hadn’t wanted to impose himself on Felix's issues, hadn’t wanted to cause Felix any trouble with his own feelings, so he kept his distance. But now that he could see the bruises under his eyes, the exhaustion tugging on his eyelids, and the forlorn expression on his face, Changbin felt like stepping to the side for so long may have been a terrible decision.

“Do I?” Felix mumbled, bringing his fists up to rub over his face, “Guess I’m not the best liar, huh?”

Changbin gave him a small smile, “Do you wanna talk about it?”

Felix bit his lip, looking at anything that wasn’t the coffee shop employee sitting in front of him. He had his phone in his hands, turning the device in circles and giving a quick glance at the homescreen. At the sigh that left the boy’s frame, Changbin had to guess whatever Felix was hoping for wasn’t there.

“I haven’t even told my friends,” Felix whispered, and the complete despair that leaked through his words, the defeated tone broke Changbins heart.

Changbin waited patiently as Felix seemed to have a mental debate with himself. The blonde pulled out his phone once more, lighting up the screen to show a blank home page. Changbin watched as Felix sank in his seat, his shoulders drooping along with his mood.

“My boyfriend’s ignoring me,” Felix finally spoke, and his words were bitter, “I’ve been trying to text him, see him, at least _talk_ to him for the past two weeks but he keeps blowing me off.”

Changbin couldn’t necessarily say he was _surprised_ that his friends had been right about Jae being an asshole boyfriend, because he had his own reservations about their relationship for a while now. He had just pushed it so far into the back of his mind after he figured he was just overthinking things out of envy and jealousy. But to hear it straight from Felix was a little jarring, what had happened to make him go from happily announcing his relationship to sulking at a coffee shop 24/7?

“And it’s not only that,” Felix continued, his tone coloring with red anger that caught the older off guard. Normally Felix’s deep voice was warm and welcoming, but it sounded nearly demonic as his emotions ran through his words, “For the past two months he’s been so weird! Constantly blowing me off, not letting me over to his apartment, he didn’t even spend my birthday with me!

And as fast as the anger appeared, it was replaced with open ended sadness, “All I got was a text halfway through the morning saying he’d be busy and would celebrate with me when he could, which ended up being never.”

“Well,” Changbin gulped, sending a quick glance to his co-workers. He knew better than to assume they weren’t eavesdropping on the conversation, and he was proven right by the three sets of eyes boring holes into his soul. Minho gestured at him to keep talking, so Changbin did probably the most idiotic thing he could come up with and said the first thing that came to his mind, “Sounds like an asshole of a boyfriend.”

He heard the smack of Minho's hand against his face accompanied by a sigh of disappointment, but Changbin pointedly avoided looking in his direction again. He could practically hear the condescending monotone voice of his manager telling him to think before he speaks, the scene already playing out in his head. And afterwards Hyunjin and Jisung would weep into each other's shoulders as they gave sappy monologues over how down right terrible Changbin was at comforting someone.

But then Felix laughed, and everything else drowned out with it.

“Why did that make me feel better?” Felix sputtered between his giggles. His dimples reemerged, making the pale skin and dark eye circles seem a little less depressing than before, “I mean you’re probably right, he’s been kind of assholey lately huh?”

Changbin didn’t waste a second before awkwardly nodding along. He was really out of touch with social interaction outside of the weird relationships he had with his friends and the standard customer service routine he used at the cafe, so he was at a loss as to how to properly act around Felix. He wanted Felix to like him, and his customer service voice was far too impersonal.

But if he talked to him like he did with Minho, Hyunjin, and Jisung he might just scare him away.

“I just don’t know what to do,” Felix rested his chin against his palms as he leaned his elbows over the table top. His tiny hands squished his cheeks together, forcing his mouth into a pout that Changbin had to look at and _not_ combust into shrieks of affections over. It was one of the damn cutest things he’s ever seen, regardless of the topic they were talking about, “Every time I try to reach out to him, he ignores me. I’d at least like to know whether I should try to piece together our relationship or if I should just move on, you know? Not get left on read or be fed pointless excuses as to why he can’t call me for the fifth day in a row.”

“Do you love him?” Changbin asked in a soft voice.

Felix recoiled into himself slightly, “I mean, we hadn’t said the words yet, but I thought I might. But honestly… I don’t know anymore. I’m just… lost. And a bit hurt, I guess.”

“Maybe you should talk out your feelings, whether with me or another friend,” Changbin suggested, and as much as it hurt, he forced himself to ignore the rapid heartbeat that only showed up around Felix. He needed to be rational, not emotionally stunted, “You don’t have to make a decision tonight, or tomorrow. But I can tell you I don’t think the way Jae is treating you is right, you deserve better Felix.”

“I should probably call Chan,” Felix muttered aloud, but Changbin couldn’t tell if he was meant to have heard it, “He’s been worried for awhile.”

“Yeah, let your friends in. Lean on them for awhile, not the cafe window,” Changbin teased before quickly shaking his hands in front of him in dismissal, “Wait, that doesn’t mean don’t come in anymore. Please continue to come in.”

“Of course,” Felix chuckled, “My favorite barista works here, I have to keep coming in.”

Changbin froze in his seat, his face mimicking Felix’s from earlier but instead of normal panic it was pure gay panic. So much so the older was sure his forehead spelled out ‘homosexual’ in big bold rainbow letters.

“Oh,” Changbin croaked out, “Favorite barista?”

“Yeah Hyunjin is great!” Felix gave a mischievous grin followed by a wink.

“Oh yeah, _Hyunjin_ is your favorite,” Changbin scoffed as he folded his arms over his chest, “I’ll remember that the next time I’m deciding to _not_ give you extra whipped cream.”

“Wait I take it back!” Felix exclaimed as he let his arms flop over the table, grabbing onto Changbin as he let his cute face beg for him in ways words never could.

“You’re lucky you’re cute,” Changbin mumbled, but judging by the way Felix smiled up, he guessed the other had heard him.

* * *

“So, did you get his number yet?” Jisung asked, for the fifth time in the first three hours of Changbins six hour shift.

“For fucks sake Jisung,” Changbin groaned, letting his body represent just how annoyed he felt inside, “He isn’t even _here_ , how am I supposed to have gotten his number?”

“Oh I don’t know, maybe when you were flirting in the corner of the cafe while the rest of us were watching you make a fool of yourself,” Jisung’s words were condescending yet his tone sounded as if he had made an innocent comment.

“I wasn’t making a fool of myself! And we weren’t flirting, he was sad and I cheered him up,” Changbin grabbed a rag from the bucket on the floor with a bit too much force causing a handful of water to wind up on the floor, “God damn it, go get the mop.”

“Yeah, and Hyunjin isn’t gay,” Jisung added before disappearing into the backroom, presumably to gather the mop Changbin had asked for.

It had only been a week since the night Changbin had sat in the seat across from Felix, and in that week the small freckled boy had cut down on his time in the cafe. While Changbin was happy Felix wasn’t hiding away in the corner booth anymore, dead to the world with sadness weighing him down, he was also slightly bummed he didn’t get to see him as much anymore.

He hadn’t even come in yesterday, and that made Changbins morning shift 10 times worse.

Changbin wasn’t above admitting he was sulking, it was a pitiful sight. He felt like a lovesick teenager, and if this is how it felt to finally accept his feelings and quit pretending he didn’t like the boy with angelic freckles and cute dimples, he was going to die by next week.

“Changbin-Hyung!”

As if the universe wanted to relieve him of his suffering, the entrance of the cafe opened with a bell chime. Two boys entered, one being Felix who looked significantly more healthy than last week.

“Hey, you’re back,” Changbin waved in their direction as the two strolled up to the counter, “Do you want your usual?”

“Your usual?” The other boy asked with a knowing look as Felix rubbed his neck sheepishly, “Let me guess, it’s 75% syrup?”

“Chan, come on. He already knows I have a sweet tooth, he makes my drink all the time.”

Ah, so this is the Chan that Felix mentioned last week.

“What about for you?” Changbin asked Chan, who turned his gaze onto Changbin.

But it wasn’t just an innocent gaze, it felt like Chan was looking straight into Changbin’s soul. Like he was picking apart his hidden desires and every decision he’s ever made in his life. His eyes were sharp, considering every inch of Changbins existence with a fine tooth comb. The barista locked up, letting his eye dart between Chan and Felix who wasn’t yet aware of his friend's odd behavior.

“Hmm, just give me whatever you recommend,” Chan finally answered as his eyes softened just slightly.

Changbin had to shake himself back into focus before making his mind think up some type of drink combination the stranger might enjoy and typing it into the computer.

“Hey Felix, I left my wallet in the car. Can you go get it for me?” Chan called over his shoulder at the boy who was looking at the pastry case.

“Hyung it’s okay, I can pay,” Felix offered but was quickly shot down by Chan.

“No, I told you I would pay. Hyung’s treat, remember?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Felix waved him off as he grabbed the keys from Chan and headed out the door, “I’ll be right back.”

“Thanks!” Chan shouted as the door shut behind him.

As soon as Felix had turned away from them, Chan pulled out a bright blue wallet from his jacket pocket. Changbin stared in confusion as the other retrieved a debit card from inside and pushed it into Changbin’s hands.

“Uh, I thought-” Changbin stared at the card in his hand, hadn’t Chan just said he didn’t have his wallet?

“I lied, dude. I just needed to talk to you alone for a second,” Chan explained, checking behind him to see Felix barely unlocking the car door, “Just hurry up and run the card before he gets back.”

“Oh,” Changbin flinched out of his frozen state, quickly putting the card through the machine, “Yeah okay. Here, all done.”

“Thanks,” Chan accepted his card back and pocketed the bright blue wallet before Felix had moved on to the passenger side of the car.

“So, you’re Changbin?”

“Uh yeah,” Changbin cleared his throat awkwardly, “That’s me.”

Chan nodded to himself, letting his bleached hair fly into his face but made no movement to fix it, “I guess I owe you a beer, or a hug, or a clap on the back. Whatever you want.”

“I’m sorry, what now?” Changbin had to be dreaming because absolutely nothing was making sense. This had to be some fever dream, because he was missing Felix too much for his gay heart to handle and he was now imagining a very strange interaction with his friend.

But if this was really a dream, then his chest shouldn’t hurt so much from his unexpected heart palpitations. He shouldn’t be able to feel the water soaking into his shoes, and he should be able to conjure up a purple dragon the size of his hand _right now_ -

“You helped me out big time, man,” Chan continued, oblivious to Changbin’s inner turmoil, “I’ve been trying to get Felix to talk to me about his shitty excuse for a boyfriend for so long. Then all of a sudden he shows up at my doorstep at 10 PM telling me ‘Changbin said I need to talk to you’.”

“Oh,” it was hardly a response at all, but Changbin had too much happening in his mind at once to really think of anything intelligent at the moment.

“Yeah ‘Oh’,” Chan mocked him with a light laugh, sounding so similar to his friends that Changbin felt his normal sassy attitude surfacing to defend himself.

“So first you thank me and now you make fun of me. Great start to a blossoming friendship.”

“Great! You consider us friends!” Changbin didn’t have a chance to refute before Chan was pulling out his phone and pulling up his contacts list, “Give me your phone number.”

And that’s how Changbin found himself giving his phone number to Felix’s friend, who was both slightly terrifying and awfully forward with his requests, but Changibn didn’t necessarily mind it. His own friends would, and have, done far worse for him and to him in the past.

“Chan, I’m sorry but I can’t find your wallet anywhere,” Changbin jumped back as Felix returned from his wild good chase for the definitely not missing wallet.

“Oh it’s cool, Changbin gave us the coffee on the house anyways,” Chan lied so easily as he pulled Felix into his side and dragged him over the hand off plan to wait for their coffee.

Over Felix’s demands to be let go combined with his complaints over Chan's super human strength, said boy threw a wink at Changbin over the counter.

_What in the hell is happening in my life?_

It wasn’t until after Felix and Chan disappeared through the front door that Jisung finally emerged from the back room, not a single mop in his hand, resuming their conversation from earlier as if absolutely nothing had happened between then and now, “And just so you know, Hyunjin is really gay.”

“Jisung, I really hate you.”

* * *

**_Unknown Number:_ ** _Hey, this is Chan_

_Oh, hey_

_Hi_

_This is Changbin_

**_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _Well, someone’s a little jumpy_

 **_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _Don’t be scared, I don’t bite_

_I don’t know if I can trust that information or not_

_Jisung bit me the second time we met_

_But I think that’s because he was drunk_

**_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _Do you always tell your new friends weird facts about your other friends?_

_I don’t know_

_Do you always lie about losing your wallet to your other friends?_

**_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _Touche, but I had a good reason_

_I’m sure_

_Why didn’t just thank me in front of Felix?_

**_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _I needed to ask for you number without him knowing_

_Okay, but why?_

**_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _You know Jae?_

_Yeah I know him_

_Me and my friends call him Asshole Boyfriend_

**_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _Great, you’ll fit in perfectly_

 **_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _We, as in Felix’s friends, hate Asshole Boyfriend with a passion_

 **_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _Seungmin can give you his essay on why Felix deserves better if you wish_

_Wait_

_Seungmin as in Kim Seungmin?_

**_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _Yeah, you know him?_

_I think he’s dating my friend Hyunjin_

_At least that’s how Hyunjin makes it sound, but I’ve never met him_

**_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _Oh I know Hyunjin_

 **_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _Weird kid_

_Yeah…_

_But you gotta love him_

**_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _At least they make each other happy_

 **_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _They can be as weird as they want, I wouldn’t say Seungmin is  
any more normal than Hyunjin _

_Great_

_Another one to make me want to throw myself out a window_

_Anyways, what about Jae?_

**_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _Oh yeah_

 **_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _So, Jae and Felix started dating like 9 months ago now?_

 **_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _And he was originally really cool, we all liked him_

 **_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _He treated Felix like a prince, made an effort to get to know  
us, and was genuinely a good guy _

**_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _But all of a sudden he started to just be a dick?_

 **_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _Not even just to us, but to Felix too._

 **_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _He was constantly blowing Felix off, getting into petty  
arguments over things that weren’t Felix’s fault, demanding Felix made time for  
him but never made time for Felix, it was like everything was on his timeline _

**_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _Then they got into an argument that lasted like a week,  
and Jae completely abandoned him. We had been trying to get Felix to talk to us, to  
try and get him to see how he was being treated was wrong, but he kept defending  
him. Saying Jae was just going through shit and we needed to give him time _

_That sounds like a lot of manipulation_

**_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _Fuck yeah it was._

 **_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _So basically Jae disappears off the face of the earth, refuses  
to contact Felix, forgets his damn birthday, and for the past three months it’s been a  
constant back and forth with Felix getting depressed over Jae ignoring him and us  
trying to get him to see how terrible this relationship is for him _

**_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _He wouldn’t even tell us what he says to make Felix  
trust him so blindly _

_Is he still defending him?_

**_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _He was_

 **_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _Until he talked to you_

 ** _Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_** _Whatever you did_ _clicked for him and he finally started to  
see some sense_

 **_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _He came to my house crying, telling me how much Jae was  
hurting him and that he didn’t know what to do. He isn’t fully on board with just  
dumping the guy yet, and I’m not sure if he even realizes they’re practically broken  
up now as it is. They haven't seen each other in almost a month _

**_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _Which leads me to paragraph six, section a of Seungmins essay_

 **_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _We think Jae has been cheating on Felix_

_Woah woah_

_That’s quite an accusation_

_But the more I think about it the more it makes sense_

**_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _We don’t have the proof yet_

 **_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _But Jeongin is Felix’s roommate, and he’s been paying extra  
close attention to any interactions Felix and Jae have _

**_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _The bastard just always seems to have the perfect excuse, it’s  
no wonder Felix defended him for so long. He’s been doing it way before this three month  
hiatus took place in their relationship _

_Are you sure you should be telling me all this?_

_I don’t know if Felix would like that I know all of the shitty details of his love life_

**_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _Something tells me he wouldn’t mind ;)_

_Ominous…_

**_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _Clueless_

 **_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _Anyways!_

 **_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _Changbin, will you help me, Jeongin, and Seungmin save  
Felix from this shitty excuse of a relationship before Jae hurts my Baby Felix beyond repair? _

_You don’t even have to ask_

_Of course_

* * *

“I can’t believe you got his friend's number before you got Felix’s,” Jisung took a large gulp of his soda, but Changbin was wondering how long the beverage would remain a fizzy sugar concoction and not a high dosage of alcohol.

Judging by the unhealthy stock of vodka Minho had not so secretly placed in his lower cabinets, it wouldn’t be long before Jisung would be drunk off his ass.

It was one of those weekends where Minho said ‘fuck it’ and closed the cafe early and even the following day to allow him and his employees that were more like family at this point chill out at his cat infested apartment for the night. This meant they were either in for a crazy night of partying or an emotional night of self reflection, but either one was an enlightening experience.

“Hey, at least it’s a number,” Hyunjin countered, but Changbin wouldn’t say it was actually doing anything to help Changbin’s argument, “One wrong number is better than no number.”

“I still can’t believe _The_ Seungmin, Hyunjins mystery boyfriend, is friends with Mr. Freckled God,” Minho said as he plopped down on the couch next to Changbin, “Small world.”

“I wish I knew Seungmin,” Jisung frowned, “I only know the Seungmin that has Hyunjin’s tongue stuffed down his throat. That picture haunts my timeline every day.”

“Someone sounds jealous,” Minho sang with a devious grin, breaking out into a snort as Jisung glared at him, “Just saying, maybe Seungmin doesn’t have to be the only one with a tongue down their-”

“God I don’t want to hear this,” Changbin complained loudly as he dropped his head into his hands, “Why can’t my friends be normal for once?”

“Hey, you’re not one to talk,” Hyunjin gave Changbin’s foot a light kick from his seat on the floor, “We’ve had to deal with your pining ass for three months. If Jisung wants a tongue down his throat, give him a damn tongue down his throat, not a lecture.”

“I’m not gonna give him shit. And at least I’m pining for cuddles, not for dick,” Changbin reared back in disgust, the images of Jisung and _him_ doing _that_ charred any hope of not ending this night with a black out memory, “Sorry Minho-Hyung, I need to raid the vodka.”

“Quit acting like you’re straight!” Minho shouted at Changbin as he rose from his seat to reach the kitchen, “I’m sure Jisung would give you a fun time!”

“Stop!” Jisung was the one to shriek protests this time. The squirly boy kicked his legs against the couch as the other two still sitting in the room broke into unfiltered ugly laughter, “I could never, and will never, do _anything_ of the sorts with Binnie-Hyung.”

“But you would with, say, another boy?” Minho leaned closer to Jisung with rapidly fluttering eyelashes and a mischievous glint in his eyes, “Can you imagine a boy caressing your cheeks as they kiss you, pulling you close and hugging you tight as they show you affection?”

“Why are you teasing the baby gay?” Changbin said as he entered the room, his cup refilled with 50% alcohol as he reclaimed his seat.

“I’m not even gay!” As Jisung gave a serious pout, Minho and Hyunjin couldn’t keep a straight face at Changbin’s confused ‘You’re not?’. Their reactions frustrated Jisung enough to growl in annoyance, choosing to curl further into the couch and away from their friends.

“At least I don’t think I am,” Jisung sighed as the laughter died down, “I don’t know.”

“Oh wait, did we upset you?” Minho asked, his face morphing into concern as he maneuvered himself closer to the younger, “I’m sorry Sungie.”

Their friend group was a rather mixed bunch, all coming from different backgrounds and family values, but it made their chaotic relationship that much more entertaining. They each had their own quirks that made them who they are and Changbin wouldn’t trade them for anything, especially when times like this came around and his friend knew how to fix a situation before it turned into something irreversible.

Ever since he met Minho, and then eventually Hyunjin and Jisung, they had never had a fight that didn’t end by the end of the night. They never had lingering doubts, old grudges that resurfaced after a bad night, or gossip stories they tell when one of them is missing. They all genuinely care about each other, and would never sacrifice anyone’s happiness if they could avoid it.

So when Jisung was obviously upset over their teasing, they would never let the things get out of hand.

“It’s okay Hyung, I know you were just joking around.”

“No it’s not okay if it hurts you,” Jisung was forced silent by Minho’s sternness, but the oldest was quick to let it soften as he continued speaking, “We won’t joke about it anymore, okay?”

Jisung was silent for a second as he processed Minhos’ words. Changbin could see the wheels turning in Jisungs head, trying to piece together what he wanted to say before Jisung even realised he wanted to say anything. After so many years of friendship, Changbin knew when Jisung was trying to express himself, “Ji, is there something you wanna say?”

“It’s just,” Jisung paused to run a nervous hand through his hair, “I think I actually might be? Gay, I mean.”

“That’s completely fine,” Hyunjin said in the most normal tone Changbin had ever heard him use, “There’s nothing wrong with it, and now you’re like the rest of us.”

“I guess I’ve just never said it out loud before,” Jisung murmured. Changbin could see him retreating into the corner again, so Changbin gently placed a comforting hand on his friends, smiling to himself as he took it, “I know there’s nothing wrong with it, I just never accepted it in myself until now.”

“Does this mean we get to call you baby gay again?” Hyunjin gasped at Minho’s question before turning pleading eyes to Jisung until the younger reluctantly agreed with an amused smile on his face.

As the night grew, their rations dried out leaving an empty kitchen and four very hungry boys wasting away next to three annoyed cats. Minho had warned them that food was scarce since he had only bothered to buy alcohol during his grocery store trip, yet the other three only thought to bring a bag of chips and some store bought jello. Needless to say, that wasn’t enough food.

There was a battle between the younger three to see who would be forced to pay for the food, the loser being Hyunjin. Then there was a second battle between the last two to see who would be forced to pick up said food, the loser being Changbin.

So that was how Changbin found himself walking down the streets of Seoul at 9 PM.

It was freezing outside, reaching temperatures cold enough that Changbin was convinced it could cast a layer of frost over his pinky if he left it exposed long enough. He would admit he was rather slow as walking towards the restaurant, but he figured he could be fast when he made his way back. At least then he would have warm food pressed against his body.

It took a record 10 minutes for Changbin to walk the normal 5 minute walk, and as he entered the warm building he started to regret not walking faster. The warmth felt so nice on his skin, and he could have gotten here so much sooner.

There was a bit of a line, so Changbin waited patiently for the people in front of him to place their orders or pick up food they had ordered online or through the phone. The restaurant was crowded, with most of the tables being occupied by families and friends, a few couples mixed in between. He let his eyes scan the faces, as he usually does when idly waiting. He wasn’t looking for anything in particular, but his eyes ended up locking on an all too familiar face, one that Changbin hadn’t seen since the one time in the cafe that left him and his friends with an odd feeling.

Jae, the asshole boyfriend that has been ignoring Felix for months, the guy that treated the sweetest person in the world like a disposable tool, the guy that Chan suspects might be cheating on his boyfriend, was here.

And he was holding hands with a girl.

Changbin felt two things at once, pure rage and unmeasured betrayal. After three months of Changbin insisting to his friends that Jae was probably a great guy, after telling them he wouldn’t interfere in Felix’s relationship because he just wanted him to be happy, after letting his own heart break fester because he didn’t want to ruin their bond… Changbin had defended the guy all this time when he really was just being a scumbag?

For a single second, he begged god to let him go back in time and listen to Minho: _He should’ve poisoned the bastard._

He watched as Jae conversed with this woman, looking like he dazzled up his appearance just for her. This Jae was nothing like the distracted boy too busy looking at his phone screen Changbin remembered, this was a guy who knew what he was doing. He was a flirt, an all around playboy, and Changbin had to wonder how many others had fallen into his trap.

As Jae picked up the girl's hand and pulled her knuckles to his lips, Changbin quickly snapped a photo. He wasn’t sure if this would be enough to prove anything to Felix, but at the very least it was a start.

* * *

** _Sent 31528.img_ **

_Look who I found_

**_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _Holy shit_

 **_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _It’s literally been like three days, how did you already  
see something _

_I would say it was luck_

_But I don’t feel very lucky_

**_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _I know what you mean_

 **_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _I hate feeling glad we’re getting proof because I know it’s  
just gonna break Felix’s heart _

**_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _but at the same time, Jae is the one breaking his heart.  
He’s the one being an asshole. I just don’t want to see it get worse _

**_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _Idk if that makes sense_

 **_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _Am I being a bad friend?_

_What? No_

_I mean I get where you’re coming from but I don’t think you’re being a bad friend_

_Felix is in trouble, and you’re trying to help. Plus everything you said sounds like Felix has been  
suffering for quite awhile _

_I feel kind of hypocritical saying this, but I think you intervening is the right thing to. You're saving Felix  
from more heartbreak. I would hate it if my friends found out my boyfriend was cheating on me and  
kept it a secret. _

**_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _Wait what do you mean by hypocritical?_

_Ugh_

_This is gonna be embarrassing_

**_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _Well now I gotta know_

_I just_

_You can’t tell anyone, especially Felix_

**_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _If I can hide my wallet I can hide your secret_

_And don’t like_

_Skin me alive or anything_

**_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _Are you gonna confess to me that you like Felix or something?_

_…_

**_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _I’M RIGHT?_

_I just think he’s cute_

**_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _Well duh he’s cute_

 **_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _That better not be the only reason you like him_

_It’s not_

_I just like his personality, and he’s really sweet, and I really like hearing him talk about his day_

_I don’t know, he’s just nice to be around. My friends like him, he’s hilarious…_

_I’ve liked him for about 3 months now…_

**_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _So literally ever since Jae started ditching him, you’ve liked Felix?_

_Uh yeah, pretty much_

_And I kept pushing away my feelings because he was in a relationship_

_I wasn’t gonna interfere with it because I was being selfish. I thought Felix was happy and even when my  
friends and I thought Jae was kind of a dick I just left it alone because I thought it wasn’t my place _

_That’s why I was kind of a hypocrite for telling you it was good for you to interfere when things looked bad,  
because it took Felix looking depressed for a week straight at the cafe for me to do something _

**_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _But now you are, right?_

_Huh?_

**_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _You’re helping Felix now_

_Yeah?_

**_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _Then that’s all that matters_

 **_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _I don’t blame you for staying away, especially since you had feelings for him_

 **_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _Hell I would have done the same thing. That was very respectful of you to do Changbin.  
_ _You’re a good person for wanting to put Felix’s feelings above your own_

_Oh_

_You think so?_

**_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _I do_

 **_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _Now,_ _Operation: Get Rid Of Jae_ _has turned into_ _Operation: Get Rid of Jae And Bring In Changbin_

_Wait what_

**_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _I’m not an idiot_

 **_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _I kind of figured you and Felix had something going on_

 **_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _He looks at you funny_

_I don’t know if that’s a good thing_

**_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _It’s better than looking at you platonically_

 **_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _He might not realize he likes you yet_

_He WHAT_

**_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _JUST GIVE IT TIME_

 **_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _I promise, it’ll be worth it_

 **_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _Listen, we need to meet up and figure out a way to break this to Felix_

 **_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _Why don’t you come to my apartment tomorrow?_

_Uh sure_

_Can I bring friends?_

**_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _Are one of those friends Hyunjin?_

_Maybe_

**_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _Tell him I want my fucking hoodie back_

* * *

It turned out Chan lived relatively close to Minho, so when Changbin announced to the three boys who wound up sleeping in Minho’s living room that they had a mission to accomplish, there wasn’t much of a fuss. Jisung and Hyunjin rose from their deep slumber with rat nests for hair, Hyunjin somehow managing to shove his head between the couch cushion in his sleep and Jisung waking up to cats tangled in his brown locks.

Minho somehow woke up bright and early, as if the alcohol had no effect on his skinny frame other than to energize him the next day. Changbin eyed him with caution, because how does anyone who’s not a demon consume that much alcohol and not succumb to a massive hang over the next day?

It was yet another note of evidence to place in the ever growing ‘Minho Is Satan: Confirmed’ case file Hyunjin had been accumulating in his spare time. Most of it was mental knowledge he stored away rather than physical examples, but no one tried to tell him that it wouldn’t be effective in a court of law.

Hyunjin, Jisung, and Changbin were well known for being hard to wake up, and when paired with a night of heavy drinking it was almost a lost cause to get them up before noon. That is until Minho starts blaring generic pop music and belts out the lyrics in surprising accuracy. That is the reason Changbin found himself seated at Minho’s kitchen counter nursing a mug of black caffeine as Minho tried to prepare a semi-decent brunch for everyone. It was most likely going to be american pancakes or he would give up being fancy halfway through and just make plain rice.

“Damn hyung, you sure you don’t wanna become an idol?” Changbin mused as he took a sip of his coffee, he definitely needed the caffeine for today, “Your voice is good when it isn’t waking me up.”

“If I became an idol who would look after you three hooligans,” Minho gestured towards Hyunjin and Jisung’s form’s slumped over each other, having fallen asleep again for the sixth time since Minho's first wake up call. How they could tune out the noise so easily, Changbin didn’t know, “Maybe I should throw water on them, that’ll get them awake.”

“You know you love us,” Changbin reminded the older, who gave a sigh of agreement.

“Besides, if I became an idol, you would have to become a rapper with me. Don’t even try to pretend you aren’t talented as hell,” Changbin choked on his coffee as Minho acted like he hadn’t just complimented his friend in the most not Minho way ever.

Normally Minho’s compliments were mixed with insults or jokes that made it seem like he was being sarcastic unless you knew him. His humor was weird, matching with all of their equally just as strange humor. His personality melded well with theirs which meant they understood each other better than they probably should. 

And Minho was usually very reserved with his emotions, shy and quiet unless it was with friends. Then he would unleash his inner demon, joking around the stereotype Changbin and Hyunjin placed him in with the knowledge that they meant no malice by it. It was what they all did to show their affection, being assholes to each other was just a way to say ‘I love you’.

But occasionally they got sentimental, and in those moments Minho got _soft_.

“Minho-Hyuuung!” One of the hooligans called from the living room, “Can you _please_ shut off the music?!”

Instead of granting them an answer, Minho shouted along to the words in ear shattering volumes. With Minho’s singing and Jisung and Hyunjin’s shrieking, Changbin wouldn’t be surprised if a noise complaint was filed by that night.

* * *

“Here’s your hoodie,” Hyunjin had thrown the black hoodie onto Chan’s face and passed through the door way before the other had a chance to greet them at the door.

The blonde pulled the fabric off his head with a grumbled, “Bitch,” as he allowed the rest of Changbin’s group to enter the cramped space. Chan’s apartment wasn’t any smaller than Minho’s, but with the grand total of 7 boys taking up so much space the room felt smaller than Changbin was used to. He kept close to Jisung and Minho, as one does when they first meet people they aren’t familiar with, but Hyunjin was far more comfortable than Changbin was in their situation.

Hyunjin had run full force into the living room, letting his entire body fall onto another smaller boy who luckily caught him just in time to let them land safely on the couch. Hyunjin wrapped his lanky arms around the boy, a boy he soon recognized as Seungmin, who reciprocated by securing his legs around the taller. They were a human ball of limbs as they rocked back and forth until they rolled straight into another boy who grunted in distress as Hyunjin kneed him in the stomach.

“Jinnie-Hyung, please!” The other boy whined as he clutched his gut, “I’m not ready to be hospitalized!”

“And people call me dramatic,” Hyunjin laughed at the pouting boy, but still slowly unraveled himself from Seungmin, whom he was smothering, to bring the one he had attacked into his arms, pushing the youngers head into his chest “Don’t worry Jeonginnie! I won’t let the bad man hurt you!”

“But you’re the bad man,” The boy, presumably Jeongnin judging by the nickname Hyunjin used, responded in a muffed voice due to the fabric he was being suffocated in.

“I got you Innie!” Seungmin jumped straight onto Hyunjin back, bringing the unsuspected party down to the ground with Jeongin still in his arms. The three boys rescinded with a yelp and groan of pain as their bodies hit the floor, some louder than others.

“Are you guys done being weird?” Chan reentered the living room, having returned his hoodie to its rightful place, “Because we have business to discuss.”

“Right, Potential Cheating Boyfriend Turned Actual Cheating Boyfriend,” Seungmin began, giving the three newcomers a warm smile. He looked exactly like the picture Hyunjin had shoved into his face three months ago, all chubby cheeks and bright eyes, “I’m guessing one of you is Changbin?”

“Oh yeah,” Changbin cleared his throat as he raised his hand, “That’s me. These are my friends Minho-Hyung and Jisung. And I guess you already know Hyunjin.”

“Oh I know him very well,” Seungmin turned to Hyunjin as he spoke, giving the other a wink as Jisung gagged in retaliation.

“Quit being gay for like 10 seconds,” Chan cut in trying to sound annoyed but his words held more amusement than animosity, “We have important thing’s happening. If you don’t already know, that one there is Seungmin and the cute one is Jeongin.”

“It’s nice to finally meet you,” Jeongin perked up, and Changbin could already feel his hyung instincts kicking in, “I only met Hyunjin the other day, but if you guys are anything like him then I have no doubt you'll be great friends!”

“Why are you so damn cute,” Minho had said it with a straight face, but the strain against his forehead showed just how much he wanted to wrap Jeongin up in a hug. Changbin grinned, he had a feeling they would all get along just fine.

The boys all sat in a circle, Changbins group of friends on one side and Chan’s on the other. Seungmin and Hyunjin predictably sat next to each other with their hands intertwined while Chan and Changbin sat across from them, watching them both with barely contained fondness.

“Before we start,” Changbin said as he gave the couple holding hands a contemplative look, “I wanna know how Seungmin and Hyunjin have been dating this whole time yet Hyunjin had no idea about Felix.”

“Well we only really started dating like two months ago,” Hyunjin squeezed his fingers around Seungmins, “And before that we were only kind of seeing each other. The only friend of Seungmins I’d met was Chan until a few days ago when I met Innie.”

“So, you’ve had that picture of you guys making out as your profile picture without actually being in a relationship?” As Jisung asked, Seungmin gave a loud and pained sigh as Hyunjin’s evil cackle filled the room.

“I didn’t even know he took that picture!” Seungmin shouted in despair, turning desperate eyes to Jisung’s confused face, “I wasn’t paying attention and no amount of begging will get him to take it down!”

“Hyunjin you absolute idiot,” Minho glared at the youngers laughter before landed a harsh slap to his leg, which only spurred on more of his hyena gasping, “Not only did you make us suffer from having to see you making out everytime you post an update about your pointless daily discoveries, but you’re telling me you’ve been punishing Seungmin too?”

“Don’t worry,” Hyunjin forced out as he wiped away the laughing tears he’d formed, “I told him if it really bothered him I’d take it down. But _someone_ hasn’t said the magic words yet~”

Changbin watched the gradual reddening of Seungmins face until he resembled a tomato. Everyone in the room had to take a moment to process what Hyunjin was implying until everyone was either laughing or begging for the two boys to keep their weird dynamic out of everyone else's lives.

“Please,” Chan rubbed his forehead furiously, “I never want to hear of your sexual escapades. Never.”

“Better get used to it,” Minho warned, forcing Chan to look at him with defeated eyes, “All of our conversations go like this. As long as Hyunjin, or me for that matter so long as vodka is present, are involved, you’ll be hearing _much_ worse.”

“Greeeaaat,” Chan dragged on until the rest of the boy had calmed down enough to speak about what they had all gathered for.

Felix.

“So,” Chan clapped his hands together to gather everyone’s attention, “About Jae. I think we’re all already brought up to speed on everything, right?”

There was a unanimous nod all around and a small, “That cheating bastard,” From Minho before Chan continued.

“We need to tell Felix,” Chan said as he placed a heavy hand on Changbin’s back, “And get Changbin his mans.”

“Wha-,” Changbin startled at Chan's words, intending to insist that Felix was the priority, not Changbins unwavering crush, but then the entire room was shouting agreements over Changbin’s protests.

“Guys wait,” Changbin cut off their celebration, trying to push off the embarrassment he felt simmering in his chest, “This isn’t about me. This is about Felix being used by a person he’s supposed to trust. I want to help him before I want to date him. Our first order of business needs to be helping him out of this situation. Then, if things go well, maybe we go for more.”

“Hyung,” Changbin turned to Jisung, “No offence, but you’re an awful procrastinator for someone who’s always early to work. You’ve been pushing off your feelings for so long, are you really gonna do anything even if things go well?”

Well Jisung wasn’t technically _wrong_ , he did have a habit of pushing away his problems, but that didn’t mean his words didn’t offend him. His miniscule crush on Felix had grown massively over the past few months, rivaling even the largest known stories of young love if he was being honest, but that didn’t mean he wanted to take advantage of Felix in a rough position. The idea of Felix being anything more than a friend with Changbin was a dream come true, but the fear that it would only be to fill a void or out of pity and obligation outweighed anything else.

“He’s right,” Minho agreed, “And we all know that no matter how much we want it, things aren’t gonna go great. It’s going to be messy and he’ll be hurt. But Binnie, don’t pull away. You may think you’re doing what’s best, but when you try to contain your feelings you end up distancing yourself.”

“So?” He knew his grief was just a tiny bit exaggerated, he was letting his emotions run rampant while his friends were looking at this logically, but it was difficult to reign in the negative thoughts plaguing his mind, “I’d rather wait until Felix is happy and single to try anything, and if that means I keep my distance to keep my feelings in check then so be it.”

“Binnie,” Minho sighed into his palm as the other occupants in the room eyed the two wearily, “We’re not attacking you. Calm down, please?”

As if Minho held a secret key Changbin didn’t even know existed, the olders words opened a drain in his heart. His excess emotion simmered and the breath he didn’t realize he was holding exhaled the defence he was aiming at the group. He slump into himself, letting the tension leave his body, “Sorry, I just don’t wanna fuck up.”

“You won’t,” Chan pulled Changbin into a friendly side hug, flashing him a small genuine smile, “I can tell Felix really likes you. You know he doesn’t shut up about you? I know more about you than you probably do about yourself.”

Changbin blinked, his eyes conveying the utter disbelief he was experiencing. Felix, Mr. Freckled God, the guy who hasn’t left Changbins mind for months, the one that made his shitty morning at the coffee shop something to look forward to, talked about _him_?

“Well isn’t that interesting,” Hyunjin cackled at Changbin’s shock, throwing his head back as he teased the older, “All this time you’ve been admiring Felix and keeping your distance when he’s been doing the same? Wow you guys are made for each other?”

“But he’s still in a relationship…” His eyebrows knitted together as he tried to figure out what this all meant. Wasn’t Felix still in love with Jae?

“I think he’s just confused,” Chan’s expression turned serious as he spoke, “Like I said before, I don’t think he even realizes yet. But if you don’t give up, if you fight for him, I know he’ll figure it out.”

“You don’t think it’s selfish?” The entire room hushed, sympathetic eyes falling on him as he cowered away. He didn’t like to feel vulnerable, but he needed to make sure he was doing the right thing. That he wasn’t going to be hurting Felix in the long run. He would always put Felix’s feelings above his own, from now until the day he died, even if that meant they would never be together.

But if everyone was telling him something else, if everyone said to fight, then maybe he should.

“No,” Chan filled the silence with a shake to Changbin’s shoulder, “You’re not selfish at all.”

* * *

As much as they wanted to rush to Felix then and there, Chan felt it best to wait two days before they spoke to the boy about his cheating bastard of a boyfriend.

 _Soon to be Ex-Boyfriend_ , Changbin helpfully reminded himself.

His confidence, which was previously depleted to a whopping -10, had been restored and fully equipped by the help of his oh so lovely friends. And by lovely, he meant down right demonic, truly hideously evil, and terrifyingly deceiving.

Not only had they successfully tracked down Jae through every social media platform to ever exist, they had compiled a hefty list of despicable evidence pointing to Jae being the absolute scum of the earth. Minho managed to find not only a public and active Tinder account, but matching ones with equally as appalling bios on Grinder and Bumble. 

_Jae | 22 | Single | I go for a little bit of everything ;)_

God, Changing wanted to deck him in the face.

Jisung had accumulated dozens of photos of Jae with other boys and girls at bars, restaurants, and clubs around the city. It had started off with searching for the girl in Changbins picture, which eventually led to a rabbit hole of selfies containing numerous people with nearly just as much tongue sucking as Hyunjins profile photo.

The most damning piece of evidence had come from Hyunjin and his insane idea of trapping Jae in the act. With the consent from Seungmin, Hyunjin had spent the last two days endlessly flirting with Jae online, enamoring him with his sex appeal and winding the asshole in with his sultry words. Since Jae was too busy watching his phone the first time they met, he had no idea the pretty boy he’d been talking to had already met him once. The Little Demon had The Asshole Boyfriend wrapped around his finger, waiting at his beck and call.

It was almost too easy to trick Jae into complying, because they weren’t even tricking him at all. The guy was shamelessly hopping from person to person hoping to get laid or at the very least a little frisky. All Hyunjin had to do was exist and the job was done, everything else was just to ensure that everything worked.

There was a debate over who should be the person to break it to Felix, Changbin’s friends saying Chan should do it and Chan friends claiming Changbin was the right choice. Ultimately, it was up to the two boys who had to carefully weigh their options.

“I’ve already tried to talk to him,” Chan had admitted, albeit a little mopey but still determined to help, “He was always in denial. He might try to fight me on it at first, but you’re an outsider as far as he knows. You’re seeing things from a different perspective. And if someone else is telling him Jae is an asshole, he might skip past the whole ‘Jae is a good person Chan-Hyung quit trying to make him into the bad guy’ bit.”

So it was decided, Changbin would be the one to tell Felix that his boyfriend of 9 months was cheating on him, and had been for about 6 months now if his online activity said anything about it.

That shouldn’t be so hard, right?

He wished he could relay that information to the jitters running through his blood. He couldn’t even blame it on the coffee today. He was caffeine free, regardless of the fact that he had been “working” at the cafe all morning. And by “working” he meant impatiently waiting for Chan to let him know Felix was on his way to the coffee shop so Changbin could pull him aside and hopefully rip off the metaphorical bandaid as painlessly as possible.

They were fully staffed, Jisung manning the espresso bar, Hyunjin taking care of the register, a new hire named Wooyoung taking care of customer support, and Minho working on the computer in the back. Changbin was a glorified entry greeter, dusting the same shelves and sweeping the pristin wooden floor was the ninth time that morning. Minho had given him the least amount of responsibilities with the idea that Changbin would coincidentally be getting off the clock just as Felix came in.

The time had been passing slowly, and by the time Changbin’s phone finally vibrated in his pocket the boy was so wound up he nearly kicked the Holiday Cup Display onto a woman and her baby waiting in line.

Emphasis on almost, as he had caught the tumbling surface and righted his wrong before she ever noticed the barely avoided disaster. His coworkers were a different story, having seen the whole scene and were quietly laughing at his mistake as he pulled out his phone.

**_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _He’s on his way_

 **_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _He thinks I’m meeting him there, but I’m waiting until you give me the clear to head over_

_Got it_

Changbin pocketed the device, taking a deep breath in hopes of calming his nerves, before gathering his broom. He made eye contact with Jisung as he headed for the back room, the brunette sending Changbin a small fist bump. He wished it could cure the feelings in his chest, the anxious energy at the idea that Felix was most likely going to be either seriously hurt or furious by the time he had the blonde in front of him. It was slowly dawning on him that Felix, Mr. Freckled God that had captured Changbins interest since the first say he stepped into the cafe, was going to be hurting. He was going to learn that Jae was a terrible boyfriend, and probably find out Changbin held deeper feelings for the boy than just platonic ones.

Minho ditched the screen in front of him as Changbin entered the backroom, turning to watch Changbin remove his apron and place the broom away. He let his employee clock out in silence, fold up his apron, and grab his backpack before he spoke.

“I have Jisoo and Rose coming in about thirty minutes to cover for the rest of Jisung and Hyunjin’s shift, they said they didn’t mind that it was last minute. And Hongjoong is going to be taking over for me in about an hour. If anything goes bad or you need our help we’ll be here.”

Minho was being soft again, but Changbin appreciated it too much to make fun of him for it, “Thanks Hyung-”

He was interrupted by his phone’s vibration.

**_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _He’s there_

 **_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _You can do it Binnie_

Changbin took a deep breath, hiking his bag over his shoulder and giving Minho a nod before heading back out to the lobby. Hyunjin and Jisung were busy with drinks and customers, but each paused their work to meet eyes with Changbin, both offering sincere smiles as Wooyoung watched them in confusion.

Just as he could hear Wooyoung ask the other two why they were acting weird, he spotted him.

Felix was sitting in his booth, his back towards the entrance. He had a large comfy sweater on, pale blue that complimented his skin. He had his hands tucked into the sleeves where he rested his chin on. He was watching the passing commuters on the road outside the cafe, but rather than glossy eyes and bitten lips, Felix looked content. As if he wasn’t about to find out the most heartbreaking news he could hear. As if Changbin wasn’t going to be the one to tell him.

Changbin approached the table as normally as possible, waiting until he was about a foot away to announce his presence, “Uh, hey.”

Felix jumped a bit at the unexpected voice, but his surprise quickly disappeared and was replaced by a toothy smile, “Oh hey Changbin-Hyung.”

It was amazing to hear the word ‘Hyung’ come out of Felix’s mouth when he was talking about him. His voice was so soothing, and hearing that word with that voice did something to Changbins heart that he’d never felt before. His eyes sparkled as he spoke, his smile large and bright, but Changbin could still see the sadness looming in the corners. As much as Felix was happy to see him he was still hurting, but he was trying to be happy for Changbin.

Why was he such an angel?

“Hey…” he repeated awkwardly before adding, “Can I sit?”

Felix blinked for a second as the question processed in his head before he shook himself back to the present, “Yeah, of course! I’m just waiting for Chan, but he’s not here yet.”

Changbin took his seat, pushing his backpack up against the window and turning to face the boy he’d been waiting for all day. Felix clasped his hands together over the table as he watched Changbin situate himself. It was then Changbin noticed his nails were painted, just a clear coat but it made his trimmed nails shine as bright as himself.

Was he really about to do this? Drop a metaphorical bomb over Felix’s head, in the corner booth of Minho’s cafe? 

“Um yeah,” Chanbin’s voice came out shaky, and his hands had developed a thin layer of sweat he was trying to wipe on his jeans, “About that. Chan’s not coming. At least not yet.”

Felix’s smile crooked in confusion, his head tilting as a forced anxious laugh pushed past his lips, “Not coming? But he texted me…”

His words faded out as he pulled out his cell phone. He faltered a minute at the homescreen, which Changbin could see was a selfie of him and Jae looking much happier than Changbin had ever witnessed. Felix had his cheek pressed against Jae’s who was making a kissy face to the camera. Rather than seeming happy to be reminded of the happy memory, Felix was understandably upset, though he had made no move to change the picture.

“I know he did,” Changbin explained as Felix noticed no new messages from Chan, “I asked him to send you here.”

Felix dropped his phone to his lap, his smile completely gone from his face, “You did? But why?”

“I needed to talk to you,” Changbin tried to contain eye contact with Felix, but the other’s gaze was so intense. It was like he was staring straight into his soul, past the shell and masks he had in his everyday life and into everything he’d tried to keep hidden from Felix for so long.

“Okay,” Felix said slowly, “Is something wrong?”

“Well, kind of,” Changbin cringed as Felix’s face fell, “Wait, not with you. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Oh good,” Felix brought his hand to his chest as he exhaled in relief, “What’s wrong then?”

“It’s uh, about Jae,” Changbin could see the moment Jae’s name was mentioned and how it made Felix open up a whole different side of himself.

He was vulnerable, much like just the other week when Felix had confided in Changbin over his shitty relationship. Any motivation Felix had for being in a good moo was wiped away as soon as he was brought up, and Changbin sort of hated himself for being the reason why.

But he had to remember why, there’s a reason he was here and he wouldn’t let Felix be hurt any longer.

“What about him?” Felix curled his fisted further into his sweater, looking both adorably cute and sadly pitiful at the same time.

“I saw him, the other night. On a date.”

He was almost expecting Felix to cry if he was honest. He was waiting for the tears, for the despair and the desperate begging for a reason. He was prepared to have to console Felix’s broken heart with ice cream and movies and depend on Chan to help him ease the pain just a little bit. The smaller boy's posture tensed, his soft cheeks puffing up due to grinding teeth, and his nostrils flared with agitation.

“ _What?!”_ The growl was so deep, so gravely and unexpected that Changbin momentarily forgot what exactly he was talking about.

He should _not_ be finding this attractive right now.

Felix was _furious_ , radiating waves of aggression that Changbin was convinced would saturate the entire cafe in his emotions. The anger didn’t fit his petite face, or his pale blue sweater, or his glossy nails. His freckles were supposed to be shining under the sun, his eyelashes free of tears and his lips free of raw self-made bite marks.

But he was here, with Changbin, learning about his cheating boyfriend.

“When? Where?” Felix demanded frantically, and Changbin wasn’t one to drag things along.

He held up a finger as he retrieved the photo he had taken during his nighttime food run. He had it pulled up in preparation of this conversation, so he just handed the phone over to the irate boy. It was almost comical, how Felix’s expression morphed from furious, to practically murderous in the flash of a few seconds.

“ _That fucking bitch_ ,” he seethed, clenched the cell phone even tighter Changbin was surprised it didn’t crack under the pressure, “So this whole time he’s just been _busy_ with _her_?!”

“Well,” Changbin coughed as he pried his phone from Felix’s fingers and swiped further in the album he had made consisting of all of the pictures Jisung had accumulated, “It’s more so a _them_ than a singular _her_.”

He handed the phone back to Felix, instructing him to swipe through. His face remained stoney and focused as he reviewed the proof before him. Changbin sent a quick glance to the counter, seeing Jisung and Hyunjin blatantly watching the two of them with a mixture of curiosity and concern, and Minho snapping at them to stop staring.

“I cannot believe this, I can’t believe _him_!” Felix snapped raising the screen closer to his face, “I know this guy! He and Jae were friends for like a week until he disappeared off the face of the earth! He knew we were dating!”

Felix shoved the phone back in Changbins face, pointing out the red head with a snarl, “How many of these people knew he was taken the _whole time_ yet still let him do this?!”

Changbin didn’t answer, content to allow Felix to feel his emotions without him interfering quite yet. After all, there was far more than just these photos that Felix had to find out about. There was still Minho’s discovery of various dating app profiles and Hyunjin’s huge undercover operation, but Changbin figured it might be best to wait to bring that up until Felix was _not_ in public.

If he reacted like this to the pictures, Changbin was sure he would actually break something when he found out about the other things and he would prefer if that happened away from prying eyes.

“Fucking hell, you little lying bitch,” Felix tapped aggressivley against the phone screen, his face scrunched up in angry wrinkles and his checks dyed red, “She _works_ with me. We co-teach together, and I thought she was acting weird for _so long_. Oh you’re just tired huh? Are you sure you didn’t just fuck my boyfriend last month and now don’t know how to act around me?!”

Changbin couldn’t help but wince in sympathy, that one was a bit more personal than the others. At least those people were somewhat strangers, strangers that were aware of Jae’s scheme most of the time but still strangers. But this one knew Felix, _worked_ with him, and had violated his trust so easily. 

“I’m so sorry, Felix,” Changbin whispered.

“I just don’t get it,” Felix’s voice cracked as angry tears collected, seconds away from trail over his freckles, “If he wanted to cheat on me, why not just break up with me?”

This is the sadness Changbin had been waiting for, but he felt stuck now that it was here. Felix was staring at the photo of his co-worker, lips all over Jae’s neck as he smirked at the camera. The cafe was still relatively busy, and they were attracting a few eavesdroppers. He had a hunch Felix wasn’t going to calm down anytime soon, so Changbin took a risk and reached his hand over to Felix. He let his finger close around the boys wrist, rubbing his thumb over the soft fabric of his sweater, “Hey, do you wanna go to the back? So we’re not out in the lobby?”

Felix lifted his head, giving Changbin the most heart wrenching look he’d ever witnessed. It was as if Felix had just remembered he was in a public venue, surrounded by people and he was just cussing out his boyfriend moments ago. He blinked away his tears, wiping them away with his sleeve before nodding in agreement.

Changbin stood seconds later, grabbing his backpack and cellphone in one hand. When Felix rose from his seat, Changbin decided to take another risk. He took Felix's hand in his own, finding comfort in the fact that Felix’s palm fit perfectly in his own, and led him to the back room. He passed Hyunjin and Jisung who were trying their best to act like they were none-the-wiser to what had transpired, and Minho who gave Changbin a look of approval.

When they passed through the corridor, Felix let out a painful sob. Changbin made sure the door was shut and led Felix to sit in the office chair in the back. Just as they reached the seat, Felix turned to face Changbin. His face was pink and blotchy, wet tears making his eyelashes stick together, and his nose swollen and stuffy, Changbin wanted to pull him into a hug. He wanted to promise things would be okay, wanted to whisper reassurances in his ear, wanted to drive it into his brain that Jae was an idiot and that he didn’t deserve any of this.

And it looked like he might be able to do just that, because Felix grabbed onto Changbin’s hoodie sleeve and asked, “I don’t know if this is going to be weird for you, and you can say no if you want but… Can I hug you?”

Changbin wasted no time, yanking the boy into his chest and feeling a warmth in his heart as Felix’s arms circled around his waist. He fisted the fabric of Changbins hoodie and buried his face into his front as he allowed the tears to fully flood out. He gave out heavy sobs and gasped for air as Changbin ran delicate fingers through his hair.

It was crazy that just three months ago, Changbin was convinced he was nothing but infatuated with the cute customer that made his mornings 10 times better. He was determined to ignore his feelings to make Felix happy, and here he is now with said boy in his arms. The fact that he could feel his skin, touch his hair, rest his chin on his shoulder, it was mind boggling. And even though he hates the reason why the most gorgeous boy he’s ever seen is draped over him with tears staining his hoodie, he was glad he was the one here to help him. 

And he would help, he wasn’t going to leave Felix to suffer alone. He was going to stay by his side, whether that be as a friend or a lover. He wasn’t going to abandon him, and if he could help it he wouldn’t let him be hurt like this ever again.

They stayed like that for a few minutes, Changbin not daring to stop Felix until his emotions had run its course. He didn’t care that his shirt was beginning to feel damp or that his spine was begging him to stretch out the uncomfortable feeling that had developed. Eventually Felix had calmed his tears, pulling away from Changbin with red eyes and sniffles. Before Felix had a chance to ask, Changbin rushed to their storage shelves and retrieved a roll of toilet paper for Felix to blow his nose and wipe away the tears track onto his skin.

Felix took the toilet paper gratefully, taking a seat with Changbin at the desk Minho had been working at earlier. The two remained silent as Felix cleaned himself up to the best of his ability, and even though Changbin could still obviously tell the boy had been crying he didn’t mention that fact to Felix.

“I know you must be feeling kind of shitty right now,” Changbin kept his voice small, offering a hand to Felix which the boy took instantly, “And I wish I could make it better for you. Do you want some hot tea? It might help with the stuffy nose.”

“Please don’t leave,” Felix’s hand tightened around his own, just like the words tightened around Changbins heart.

“I won't,” Changbin agreed instantly, god those eyes were mesmerizing. He wouldn’t be surprised if they hypnotized him the moment he saw them, “I promise I won’t leave until you tell me to. I can text Minho to bring it back here.”

Felix nodded, prompting Changbin to fish out his phone. When he opened the phone, he noticed the photo of Felix and his co-worker was still open and quickly pressing the home button to get rid of the reminder of what Jae had done. It didn’t help that Changbin knew that wasn’t even the last picture in the album, there was still more disappointment left to be discovered.

Changbin managed to send Minho a quick text with his free hand, and at the last second decided to send Chan a text too.

_I told him. He’s taking it hard. Might be awhile._

He ignored whatever Chan might reply with, giving his full attention to Felix. He had finished wiping his face clean, but Changbin could tell the crying had done a number on him. He wasn’t entirely focused on anything, his eyes seemed foggy as if he was deep in thought. He was idly tapping his finger tips together with the hand that wasn't clasped around Changbin’s. He didn’t want to plunge Felix into more grief, settling for drawing shapes into the back of Felix’s hand.

Minho arrived shortly after, one hand holding a steaming cup of tae, and the other balancing a cup of ice water and a bagged lemon loaf. He had kicked open the door a little harder than intended, making it smack into the shelves holding various coffee bags. Both boys flinched at the sudden noise, but relaxed at Minho’s wide eyes and sheepish apology.

“I brought water too because crying can make you dehydrated,” He said as he placed the items on the desk, “The tea is honey citrus and mint tea, so it’ll help if you have a sore throat and I brought the lemon loaf because I wanted to.”

“Alright Mom,” Changbin chuckled, pushing the tea and wanted closer to Felix, “Thanks.”

“Do you need anything else?” Minho asked, sending Felix a sweet smile, “I’ll bring my cats if you want. They can cheer anyone up.”

“You have cats?” Felix asked as he took a sip of the water.

“He has three,” Changbin answered first but Minho brightened at the mention of his three babies.

“Yes I do, and they’re the light of my life. You should definitely meet them some day.”

“I’d love too,” Minho beamed at the boy who was beginning to come back from the breakdown he had just had.

“Well, Rose and Jisoo just got here so I’m going to let Jisung and Hyunjin hang out in the lobby until you guys are ready to have company,” Minho informed them.

Changbin moved to thank Minho, but was stopped by Felix’s frantic response, “What? Don’t let me stop them from coming back here.”

“Felix, it’s okay,” Changbin shushed him, finding the panic in his eyes far less beautiful than when he was happy, “They don’t mind. They just want you to be okay.”

“I’m fine,” Felix sat up straight, schooling his features in a fake show of strength. But Changbin and Minho would have been able to tell the mask was fake without having experienced it, he looked like the epitome of a twilight movie, “Besides, I already heard everything. Now I just need to… get over it.”

“You know everything?” Minho quirked an eyebrow at Changbin, because surely he hadn’t told Felix _everything_ quite yet. There was a lot to be learned, and Changbin wasn’t one to rush through things. Surely enough, just as Felix nodded, Changbin shook his head. The blonde halted at Changbins movement, tears threatening to fall once again as the reality of even more heartbreaking news being dropped on him,

“There’s more?” Felix whimpered.

Changbin wrapped his other hand around the one he had been holding, feeling every bit as guilty as Jae should be for having to break this to the boy, “I’m sorry, Felix.”

“Oh,” Felix blinked a pair of tears down his cheeks, making no move to wipe them away as his gaze remained fixated on two hand enclosed around his, “Of course there’s more.”

Changbin waited for the second bout of tears, turning to Minho to ask him to leave until Felix was calm again, but Felix surprised them both. He didn’t let the tears consume, didn’t let the sadness take over and bring him down to a sobbing mess. He looked Changbin in the eye, his expression serious and determined, “Tell me. Everything. Just get it over with, please.”

“Felix, are you su-” Changbin had begun but Felix wasn’t having any second thoughts.

“Please,” He begged, “I need to know what else it is you know.”

Changbin really didn’t want to dump everything on Felix at the same time, didn’t want him to suffer so much at once, but really he was just prolonging the inevitable if he waited any longer. Felix was still goin to find out about everything, and he was still going to get hurt. If he wanted to know, Changbin was in position to keep it from him. So, with a shaky nod, Changbin agreed, “Alright, Hyung can you bring in Jisung and Hyunjin? Then we can all talk.”

Minho quickly obliged, leaving Changbin to the confused Felix, “Wait, are they involved?”

“Kind of?” Changbin’s pitch rose, taking his hand and motioning it side to side, “They just help me find this information.”

“Oh,” Felix seemed to accept it easily, and dropped any other questions he had been ready to throw at him.

Changbin took the momentary break to check the messages he had been feeling vibrating in his pocket.

**_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _Thanks for telling em_

 **_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _Did you tell him everything yet?_

 **_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _When can I come?_

_Only the pictures so far_

_We’re about to tell him the rest_

_You can come now if you want_

The response was instant.

**_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _Omw_

Just as Changbin closed his phone, Minho returned with Hyunjin and Jisung trailing behind him. Both boys were carrying bags with them which Changbin recognized as Jisoo and Rose’s bags. They placed them in the lockers before retrieving their own and packing away their aprons. Minho pulled out a few extra chairs and after a few moments, there were five boys circles together in the back room of Minho’s small cafe.

“So,” Jisung eyed the group of boys, letting his sight roam across each anxious face, “How are we going to do this?”

“Well,” Changbin gave another squeeze to Felix’s hand, “I guess we start from the beginning.”

Then began a brief rundown of how Changbin had the unfortunate witnessing of Jae and some random girl on a Saturday night, how he had texted Chan with a picture of said date, then a back track of how Changbin had even retrieved Chans number, which then turned into Felix pouting over Chan’s secret scheme.

“He’s so ridiculous,” Felix huffed, but everyone could see he held no animosity towards his friend, “He could have just talked to me.”

“He said he tried,” Changbin explained carefully, trying to avoid any sort of argument between the two boys because of his carelessness “But nothing was getting through to you. So he figured physical proof might help prove his point.”

There wasn’t much Felix could do to refute that, choosing to grumble silently for a few moments before relenting. He could admit he was a bit stubborn, wanting his doomed relationship to mend before it fell into dust, and he had even gone as far as to continuously allow red flags and uncharacteristic behavior go unchecked for so long. Chan had been telling Felix for months that something wasn’t right, pointing out how absent Jae had been from their relationship. He shoved unanswered texts and ignored phone calls into Felix’s face, reminding him of how a boyfriend should act versus how Jae was treating him.

But he kept wanting to think things would go back to normal, that Jae was really just going through a rough patch like he said and needed time and space, that Jae really did love him and just needed Felix to trust him. He should have known better, should have listened to Chan when he warned him, should have stopped things from escalating so much.

“I’m a real shit friend,” Felix mumbled with a downcast expression, barely realizing he had interrupted Changbin’s recount of his conversation with Chan over text message.

“What?” Changbin felt a metaphorical shock rock through his body. Everything in his mind was screaming at him that this was wrong, the self doubt and guilt present in Felix’s posture, bringing the boy down into a hunch, was _wrong_. 

“I already knew things were going downhill,” Felix chewed on his lip as he spoke, but stopped as soon as Changbin pointed it out with a warning that he would break skin eventually, “But I still didn’t listen to Chan-Hyung. I just... didn’t want to believe it was really happening I guess.”

“Felix,” Changbin tapped on his cheek, willing the boy to look at him again, “I guarantee you, you aren’t a shit friend. Chan isn’t mad at you, and no one blames you for wanting to trust the one person you should have been able to rely on the most.”

“He’s right,” Chan pushed himself into the room, his gaze immediately landing on Felix’s form huddled in the office chair, “I would have probably done the same thing in your shoes. None of this is your fault, okay?”

“But-” Felix was cut off by Chan who wormed through the chair to lean against the wall beside felix, letting his open palm ruffle up Felix’s fluffy hair.

“No buts, I will be seeing or hearing of no butts today,” Chan pulled Felix into a quick side hug, which caught the younger off guard enough to have him flailing at the unexpected movement, “If I hear anymore self deprecation I will be forced to punish you via no cuddles.”

“Oh that’s just cruel,” Minho narrowed his eyes at, in a way that Hyunjin, Jisung, and Changbin were far too familiar with. Chan however, was not accustomed to Minho’s odd brand of affection and appeared entirely concerned with the glar the cafe owner was sending him, “How dare you deprive him of man's essential needs.”

“Uh,” Chan blinked, darting his eyes between Minho’s irritation and Changbins amused grin, “Okay, nevermind. I will always give cuddles. Cuddles forever?”

Minho contemplated him for a moment, before eventually dropping his harsh expression and nodding in approval. Chan sighed in relief, and Changbin felt like a minor crisis had been diverted. The conversation picked up speed and with the addition of Chan, they quickly ran through the rest of the events. Felix was shown the public dating profiles, gasping at the audacity Jae had to market himself as single. He swiped through the photos, his temper rising again as he pointed out most of the pictures Jae used were ones Felix had taken. Since Changbin had snagged one of Felix’s hands and had no intention of releasing it, and the other was occupied by Changbins phone, Chan settled for resting a palm over Felix’s shoulder as he finished taking in the new information.

The only thing left was Hyunjin’s experiment, and Changbin honestly wasn’t sure how Felix was going to react to it. It seemed the sentiment was shared among the rest of them as they all met eyes over Felix, who was still staring into the phone screen.

Maybe this was a mistake, maybe Hyunjin going undercover was a bit of an overstep on their part. Afterall, the pictures were more than enough to make their point. Felix had already experienced a lot of emotional lows in just the past hour, had his world come crashing down over him, and even if Chan had stepped in when Felix began to blame himself, Changbin had no doubt that those thoughts would be coming back to haunt him later.

Showing Felix the messages, the raw betrayal in the form of msm, would only make that fact worse. It would only dig a deeper hole in Felix’s heart, make him feel even more unloved and unwanted than before, because the words he’s been saying to Hyunjin and many others are words that should have only been meant for Felix.

Changbin sent a distressed shake of his head to Chan, they shouldn’t make things worse than they are. They couldn’t hurt him anymore when he was barely keeping himself calm as it was. If they showed him the messages, it might do more harm than good.

Unfortunately, just as Chan was silently agreeing with Changbin, was when Felix lifted his head. He caught them all with wide eyes, too obvious to pretend they weren’t all sending signals to each other over his head. Felix tossed a glance to Chan beside him, finding a mirror expression on his own face.

Felix instinctually pulled away from them, dropping Changbin’s hand and recoiling from Chan’s hold.

Maybe Felix was overemotional, maybe he was currently unstable and therefore unable to think before he spoke, maybe Felix was feeling like keeping secrets from him was the last thing he needed after everything he just learned, but the blonde didn’t let any of that filter through when the agitation flooded over any other thoughts, “What is going on with you guys?! Quit dancing around me and just tell me what you want to say! Quit keeping me in the dark!”

“We’re not keeping you in the dark,” Chan had immediately cringed after he spoke, because even Felix could tell he was lying. The blonde threw a nasty glare at Chan, and not one full of humor like Minho’s had been earlier. Felix was annoyed, and Chan lying to him when he was obviously in need of stability was just infuriating.

“Chan-Hyun, no offence, but _please_ quit lying to me. If it’s about me and Jae, I deserve to know. You can’t keep making decisions for me all the time,” Felix’s tone shifted, still resounding in angry growls but Changbin could hear the anguish buried deep. Chan stared at Felix, mouth opening and closing as he tried to find the right words before plowing himself into Felix.

“I’m sorry Lix. I shouldn’t lie to you, lying is the _last_ thing I should do to you.”

Felix calmed down significantly as Chan’s apology, bringing the boy closer with a squeeze before releasing him. When Chan resurfaced, the whites of his eyes were suspiciously red but no one had the heart to point it out.

“I should apologize too,” All eyes turned to Changbin and he had to force himself not to cower away from the attention. Felix was staring at him, expectant and on the verge of blowing up again but Changbin appreciated that he was trying his best to keep a level head in this predicament, “I was debating on telling you the rest and I should have known better than to even consider hiding it from you. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Felix mumbled, rubbing his eyes with a sniffle as the tears of frustration surfaced, “I kind of get why you would want to. I’m not taking any of this really well.”

“That’s okay, you know,” Minho pointed out, “We don’t expect you to bounce back from this like nothing happened. It’s normal to be sad, angry, and even irrational. No one here blames you for being a bit on edge. We just wanted to try and lessen the blow as mucha s possible, but that isn’t a very good idea is it?”

Felix shook his head with a nearly inaudible “no” that Changbin only heard because he was paying attention. He looked so defeated, lost and alone. Changbin wanted to reach out for him again, to take his head and hold him until he felt better, but after the way Felix reacted he didn’t want to push.

“Then let’s not leave you in the dark anymore,” Minho declared, and the matching nods of agreement spurred on the next batch of discussion.

“We tricked him,” Changbin decided to take the role of explaining things to Felix, the blonde staring at him intently, “Hyunjin messaged him on Tinder, and we have texts of him…”

Changbin trailed off, but Felix knew what he was trying to say, “He was interested.”

“...Yeah.”

At the mention of his name, Hyunjin pulled out his own cellphone. He unlocked the device and set Felix up to the first interaction the two had, “I had to pretend not to know who he was, and he hadn’t mentioned you to me yet.”

Felix nodded mutely, taking the phone in his hand. The room was silent, tension so tight Changbin could practically feel it rubbing up on his skin. Felix was scrolling, taking in each and every word. Occasionally he could see the boy make a minute head movement, hear a deep exhale as he read something particularly upsetting, and eventually he was finished with the text thread.

Surprisingly, Felix didn't lash again. He didn’t cuss out his asshole boyfriend, didn’t shout about how Jae has used nicknames for Hyunjin that only belonged to Felix. He just dropped the phone in his lap, allowing the screen to darken on its own. He kept his gaze fixated on the tile floor, biting the corner of his lip.

If Changibn had to describe it, he looked numb. But that wasn’t necessarily surprising if he thought about it. After feeling enough sadness and anger to last a year, he would feel a little numb too.

“Hyunjin,” Felix raised his head at the same time as Hyunjin, “You guys are still on good terms right? You and Jae?”

“Yeah, um we are.”

“Right,” Felix sighed, pulling himself into an upright position. He clapped his hands together, rubbing the sweat against his palms to rid himself of the sticky feeling, “Then I need you to do something for me.”

“What do you mean?” Chan asked, becoming more and more concerned with the lack of emotion coming from Felix. It was like he had turned himself off, like he refused to feel any more grief. It was entirely worrying.

“I need you to ask him to meet you. Tell him the hotel on 5th street. Instead of meeting you, he’ll be forced to meet me.”

“Wait, wait,” Chan stepped a little in front of Felix, squatting down to be just below eye level with his friend, “What are you planning to do? Why meet him at all?”

“He’s been humiliating me, Chan,” Felix responded, but his voice lacked the warmth Changbin was used too. It felt empty, hurt, burned, “He’s been leading me on and cheating on me right under my nose, with my fucking _co-workers_ . I’m going to show him I know _exactly_ what he’s been doing. And I want him to feel just as humiliated as I am.”

“Are you sure about this?” Changbin wanted to reach out for Felix’s hand again, to rub some of the warmth back into his body, “What if he…”

“Hurts me?” And this time Felix let out a horridly painful laugh, one that hurt them more than anything else. He was laughing at his own hardship, and it pained Changbin in more ways than he thought it would. He wanted Felix to laugh, to cry, to come back to them. He was cutting them off, putting up walls and Changbin didn’t know what to do to fix it.

“Yes, Felix,” Chan answered, his quivering words showing just how much he agreed with Changbin’s worry, “He could really hurt you. You’d be cornering him, and I know you take TaeKwonDo, but he’s twice your size buddy.”

Felix gave a grunt in response, crossing his arms over each other as he thought over Chan’s argument. Changbin was begging, praying, that Felix would change his mind. That he would be content to just send Jae and break up text and block his number, but something told Changbin it wouldn’t be that easy.

Felix was a lover scorned, and he wanted revenge. Changbin didn’t blame him, because he’s sure any one of them would be the same in his situation. He was such a sweet person, loving, kind, caring, but Jae has made a grave mistake hurting him the way he did.

“Fine,” Felix relented, and Chan was about to pull back until he spoke again, “I won’t go alone. Changbin-Hyung can come with me.”

Felix met Changbin’s eyes, and for a second he saw something flash in the others. Something fond, like trust, Felix was trusting him, above all of the negative emotions that were curling in his chest, he was still holding something positive in his heartbreak for Changbin.

When he’s asked later why he agreed so easily, why he willingly put himself in the middle of a situation that he had no business being in, he would tell them of this moment. He would tell them of the adoration and appreciation Felix stored in his eyes, the windows of the soul as one may say. He would tell them of the tingling in his gut, the calling of his heart to follow this boy where he wanted him to go. He would tell them of how much he cared for the freckled god that came into the cafe three months ago and took his heart home with him.

He would tell you it was love, and he wouldn’t regret a single thing.

* * *

**_Hyunjin (Llama)_ ** _added_ **_Minho (Satan) , Jisung (Squirrel),_ ** _and_ **_You_ ** _into a group!_

 **_Hyunjin (Llama)_ ** _named the group_ **_Operation: Busted_ ** _!_

 **_Hyunjin (Llama):_ ** _Binnie-Hyung, please do the honor of adding Channie-Hyung_

 **_You_ ** _added_ **_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend)_ ** _to the group!_

_Can you add Felix?_

_I don’t have his number_

**_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _Literally how???_

 **_Jisung (Squirrel):_ ** _I told him to get it last week and he came back with yours smh_

 **_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend)_ ** _has added_ **_Unknown Number_ ** _to the group!_

 **_Felix (Sunshine):_ ** _Uh hi, this is Felix_

 **_Minho (Satan):_ ** _God no, I don’t wanna be in a group chat with you guys_

 **_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend)_ ** _has added_ **_Unknown Number_ ** _and_ **_Unknown Number_ ** _to the group!_

 **_Minho (Satan):_ ** _UGH_

 **_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _Introduce yourselves so everyone can save your numbers_

 **_Unknown Number:_ ** _Seungmin_

 **_Unknown Number:_ ** _Jeongin!_

 **_Hyunjin (Llama):_ ** _My Main Bae!_

 **_Seungmin (Sub?):_ ** _You got other baes running around?_

 **_Jeongin (Cute):_ ** _He has Jae_

 **_Hyunjin (Llama):_ ** _He’s a hoe it’s different_

_Okay maybe don’t joke about that yet_

**_Hyunjin (Llama):_ ** _Oh yeah_

 **_Hyunjin (Llama):_ ** _I’m sorry Felix :(_

 **_Felix (Sunshine):_ ** _It’s fine, you’re not wrong_

 **_Hyunjin (Llama):_ ** _It’s still insensitive of me_

 **_Felix (Sunshine):_ ** _Don’t feel like you need to walk on eggshells with me_

 **_Felix (Sunshine):_ ** _I know I was a little… much yesterday. And I’m sorry for that. I was just upset, and after having a night to think things through, I want you guys to know I really appreciate all the work you put into trying to help me_

 **_Felix (Sunshine):_ ** _I know I’ve been really stubborn about Jae, especially to you Chan, and I should have opened my eyes long ago. I’m completely over him and his cheating ass, and I’m ready to reap my revenge. So feel free to joke about him all you want_

 **_Minho (Satan):_ ** _ASSHOLE BOYFRIEND_

 **_Minho (Satan):_ ** _SHOULD’VE GAVE HIM DECAF_

 **_Felix (Sunshine):_ ** _What???_

_He wanted to poison Jae the first time we met him_

**_Jeongin (Cute):_ ** _Decaf is poison?!?!?!_

_Might as well be_

_Who gets decaf by choice_

**_Jeongin (Cute):_ ** _ME?????_

_OH_

_IT’S NOT POISON WE’RE JOKING_

**_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _And there he goes_

 **_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _Terrorizing the poor child over coffee taste_

_I DIDN’T KNOW_

**_Jisung (Squirrel):_ ** _Changbin you’re under arrest_

_WHERE DID THE HYUNG GO_

_I’M HYUNG. CHANGBIN-HYUNG_

**_Hyunjin (Llama):_ ** _Criminals have no hyung privileges_

_I hate you both from hell and back_

**_Minho (Satan):_ ** _Not to be That Guy_ **_™_ **

**_Minho (Satan):_ ** _But why is this chat a thing?_

 **_Hyunjin (Llama):_ ** _Right_

 **_Hyunjin (Llama):_ ** _I told Jae about the hotel and he said yes_

 **_Hyunjin (Llama):_ ** _Tomorrow at seven he thinks he’s gonna walk into a room full of me_

 **_Hyunjin (Llama):_ ** _Drunk and sexy_

 **_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _Please stop right there_

 **_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _And never talk again_

 **_Seungmin (Sub?):_ ** _I think the fuck not_

_Wait so tomorrow at seven we’ll be confronting the Asshole Boyfriend?_

**_Felix (Sunshine):_ ** _Come to my apartment at 6_

 **_Felix (Sunshine):_ ** _We can go together_

_Oh_

_Yeah_

_Definitely_

_Okay_

**_Minho (Satan):_ ** _Oh my god shut your gay ass up_

_I will kidnap your cat_

**_Minho (Satan):_ ** _I will actually skin you alive_

 **_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _Feisty :D_

 **_Minho (Satan):_ ** _…_

* * *

When Changbin walked the 10 minute journey to Felix’s apartment, the sun was already setting. The harsh winter’s cold was biting into his skin, turning his olive complexion a tinge of pink as blood rushed through his body. He was rubbing his palms together through his fingerless gloves to create friction, hoping to warm up his body just a little bit.

And maybe part of it was nerves, because in the course of a week Changbin had gone from silently pining from an espresso machine to helping his crush confront his cheating boyfriend.

Soon to be ex-boyfriend, he should say.

Changbin arrived at Felix’s door at 6:57, knocking his knuckles against the frosted door. He only had to wait a few seconds before Jeongin was pulling open the door, dressed up in fuzzy pajamas and holding a remote control in his hand. He welcomed Changbin with a smile, offering him a cup of hot tea. Changbin declined politely, which Jeongin only shrugged at it before returning to his own mug.

Changbin sat himself on the couch when Jeongin said Felix was getting dressed. The youngest had built himself a nest of blankets in the center of the couch, if Changbin had to guess there were at least three of them, and was watching some american sitcom he didn’t recognize. The apartment was spectacularly clean, much cleaner than the apartment Changbin shared with Jisung, but also nicely decorated, He wanted to assume it was Jeongin’s doing, considering he was the one bundled up in matching pajamas and socks, holding a fancy fox mug. But Felix’s fashion consisted of lots of carefully crafted outfits and jewelry which made him a likely candidate for decoration.

But for all he knew, they could both just be enabling each other to decorate to their heart's content.

“So,” Jeongin pulled Changbin out of his mental discussion, “You and Felix?”

“Huh?” Changbin didn’t like the way that question was worded, because that made it seem like Jeongin was talking about the very obvious crush Changbin harbored for the blonde and not the undercover mission they were about to embark on.

“Have you made a move on him yet?” Jeongin asked plainly, taking a sip of his drink directly after as if he hadn’t just made Changbin’s heart leap in his chest.

Did he _have_ to say that outloud when Felix was just a room away?

“ _No_ ,” Changbin lowered his voice, carefully to keep his words short and sweet, “He literally _just_ found out about Jae yesterday.”

Jeognin stared at him blankly, taking another sip of his mug, then resting it on his leg, “Okay. Just don’t wait too long.”

Just as Changbin was going to send a snarky remark back, a door was pulled open next to the tv screen. Felix was standing in the doorway, looking nothing like the tear ridden sack of sadness he was yesterday. He was dressed nice, in snug fitting white jeans and black boots, a dark gray jacket over a fluffy blue shirt. His hair was fluffed and styled nicely, showing off the dangling earring he had put in.

It contrasted with Changbin’s mainly black outerwear, but he found that he liked how differently they dressed. 

“Are you wearing makeup, Hyung?” Jeongin asked with a squeal, and now that Changibn paid attention, Felix really was wearing makeup. It wasn’t overbearing, in fact it was a perfect blend to pass as natural make up while accenting his features in the best ways. It made his nose sparkle, and his cheeks shine. His freckles still remained atop his cheek bones, and his bright eyes stood out against the light eyeshadow.

He looked absolutely gorgeous.

“Yeah I am,” Felix smiled at Jeongin, but Changbin could almost swear it looked more like a smirk than an innocent smile.

God, was he _trying_ to kill him?

“Uh, you look great. Really nice,” Changbin coughed out awkwardly.

“Thanks!” Felix beamed at him, and Changbin could see Jeongin waggling his eyebrows at him from the corner of his eye. Changbin was about to shove Jeongin and his fancy ass fox cup back into his fluffy couch nest, but when Felix was one to send the younger flying into the couch Changbin was mildly pleased. Jeongin landed safely atop the cushions, his cackle both endearing and annoying at the same time.

“Watch it, Innie” Felix warned the younger who playfully stuck his tongue out at the blonde.

Felix turned back towards Changbin, pink dusting his cheeks as he looked anywhere but at Changbin’s voice, “Just ignore him. I hope he didn’t bother you?”

Changbin froze, was Felix… embarrassed by Jeongin? But wasn’t Jeongin just teasing Changbin? “Uh no. He was great. Very… hospitable.”

“You don’t need to lie,” Jeongin chimed in, regardless of the frantic face Felix threw the younger which only proved to confuse Changbin more, “I told him _aaaallll_ your dirty secrets. Even the _really_ secret ones. Like that one you told me last night? After you told me the same thing a month ago-”

“Okay!” Felix laughed, but it sounded tinged with mild hysteria, “Time to leave! Jeongin you better be in bed when I come home or so help me god I will fucking _end_ you.”

Felix grabbed hold of Changbin’s hand, dragging him out the door and back into the cold. Changbin waved goodbye to Jeongin over his shoulder just before the door was slammed shut. Felix shook away his frustration when they were outside, releasing his hand to pull out his phone from his pocket. Changbin had immediately missed the warmth, but intelligently chose to keep that to himself.

“I’m sorry about him. And if he said anything, you can just… ignore it.”

“Oh he didn’t,” Changbin noticed the instant relief that hit Felix at Changbin words, which made his curiosity only that much stronger, “He really was fine. I think he’s just trying to get under your skin.”

“You got that right,” Felix grumbled as he repocketed his phone, “You ready to leave?”

“Yeah,” They began walking as soon as Changbin answered, but they were separated again, both of their hands limply hanging by their sides.

 _It’s cold_ he thought to himself. _I would just be holding his hand to warm him up,_ he reasoned to himself. _It doesn’t have to be a confession,_ he convinced himself.

_Fuck it._

He reached over for Felix’s hand, curling the warm digits over his own and securing them in his hold. Felix stiffened at the studden contact, but quickly relaxed, letting Changbin swing their hands between the two. Felix tightened the hold just slightly, letting Changbin know he was okay with this turn of events, and Changbin was ecstatic.

He was over the moon, so much so he didn’t even realize it when they had made it to the hotel. 

Check in was relatively easy, and they weren’t too high up. The two kept their hands entangled as long as possible until Felix needed to use both hands to handle check in properly. After signing his name, he returned his hand to Changbin’s on his own, which only made Changbin’s heart swell. There was a permanent smile on his face that he couldn’t exactly explain, nor could he get rid of it.

They departed again when they reached the room, which was rather spacious for the price. There was one double bed and a mini fridge, a neat desk and a full length mirror. The TV was mounted to the wall with instructions on how to turn to which channels, and the view was of the downtown Seoul city.

It would have been a great place to stay, if it weren’t for their circumstances.

“It’s 6:40,” Changbin took a seat on the bed next to Felix, hesitating to take his hand again. Felix had it laying on the bed, as if asking him to hold it, and considering they’ve already done it twice Changbin didn’t let his internal fears ruin the moment and grabbed hold of Felix again, “Do you think you’re ready?”

“Yeah,” Felix took a deep breathin, running a shaking hand through his hair, “I can do this. And Chan said he’s going to be down the street with Minho-Hyung if we need them,” It was a smart move on Chan’s part, offering to stay close by and provide extra support. If anything went wrong, he was just a block away, “Where uh, where are you gonna be?”

“I can hide behind the wall if you want,” Changbin pointed toward the wall against the bathroom which would be out of sight until Jae made it all the way through the room, “He won’t really see either of us until he gets in but he’ll definitely see me last.”

That was a good enough plan for Felix, and he agreed to it within seconds. They spent the rest of their twenty minutes basking in each other's company. It’s the first time Changibn has even truly been alone with Felix. Before he always had the cafe, his friends, the public, but now it was just them two. Yet Changbin didn’t even feel scared anymore. He felt like he belonged here, like he was free to be himself. It was refreshing.

Unfortunately, it didn’t last long, because five minutes before seven, they heard the lock being disengaged and Changbin had to leave Felix’s side. Felix sat up straight on the bed as Changbin situated himself against the wall just as the door was opened.

Changbin could see the moment the anger returned to Felix’s aura, the moment his entire focus was on pure disgust for the man he once thought the world of. And that moment was when Jae came skipping into the room, reeking of cologne and sounding far too excited for the night he had thought he was having.

“Hyunjin? I heard you already checked in,” There was the sound of plastic crinkling together and the door was closed, “Why didn’t you come greet me, Baby?”

Felix was patient, waiting for Jae to pass through the hallway arch into the main room before speaking, but Changbin could see the physical strength it was taking to keep himself in place. His lips were pinched and it wasn’t hard to notice he was biting on his cheeks. His nails curled into his palm, piercing through the skin and leaving bloody crescents behind. Changbin wished he could pull his fingers away from the flesh and kiss away the curved indents until all that was left was clear skin.

“Babe? Why aren’t you saying anything?” Felix bounced his leg, waiting and growing impatient of waiting as Jae dragged on his entrance.

When Jae finally made it into the room, he was dressed in an iron presseed black dress shirt, his hands full of a bouquet of red roses. He looked just like that night Changbin caught him out on a date with a girl, smiling like he wasn’t deceiving his boyfriend, dressed like he wasn’t in a relationship, talking like he had the right to call another man “Baby”.

Watching the smile wipe off his face was one of the best moments of his life.

“Felix?” Jae’s previous suggestive tone was gone and replaced with something much more fitting. His eyes were wide, staring at the fuming form of Felix who was looking at Jae like a stain in his life. Changbin hadn’t been noticed yet, and he decided it was best to keep his existence hidden for the time being Jae opened and closed his mouth, stumbling over his words, “W-what are you doing here, Baby?”

“Don’t go calling me Baby,” Felix snapped, releasing his fiery emotions as he stood from the bed, “Apparently you have a lot of those now.”

“What?” Jae had the audacity to laugh, stepping closer to the boy with his arms outstretched, “Honey, come on. Have you been caught up in those online comics again? You know that’s a stretch, you’re the only baby I have.”

“Quit treating me like an idiot!” Felix pushed away the arms that were trying to circle around him, stepping back from Jae and nearly backing into the small table behind him, “I know just what you’re doing, Jae! You can’t trick me anymore!”

“Trick you?” Jae had his back to Changbin, but he could only guess the facial expression on the bastard's face was something nasty. Felix’s anger was dissipating, something akin to fear taking its place. Jae’s voice was dark, low and intimidating that it had Changbin locked in place, “I don’t know where this attitude came from Felix, but I don’t appreciate you making assumptions like that. It’s bad for my character.”

Jae moved to grab Felix again, but when the smaller attempted to push him away again Jae had been prepared. Instead of getting away from the olders grasp, Jae pushed him straight into the armchair beside the table, boxing Felix in with his arms. It happened so quickly, Changbin barely had time to process the sudden shift in Jae’s actions. First he was trying to play things off as nothing, as if Felix was imagining things, then he got physical the moment Felix Challenged him. 

“Hey!” Changbin pushed off the wall, running up to Jae and grabbing him by the shoulder. Changbin’s strength mixed with the motion Jae made to turn around ended up flinging the man backwards. He flew back into the table, knocking over the lamp in the process.

Once he was out of Felix’s personal space, Felix jumped off the chair. He stood just behind Changbin, but still by his side so he could see Jae. The other man was steaming, his glare sliding between Felix and Changbin as he stretched his fingers beside him.

“So, is this why you’re so hung up on that bullshit from early?” Jae sneered, it was directed at Felix but his eyesight was lasered on Changbin as he said it, “You found yourself a new man and now you’re trying to act like I’m the bad guy?”

“Don’t go blaming this on him. You’re the one cheating on him with anyone who looks in your direction,” Changbin had to give himself props, he wasn’t sure he’d ever sounded so intimidating before. He needed to hold his own, needed to stand his ground and not back down, but Jae was taller than him, larger than him, and most definitely stronger than him.

But if it was for Felix he would do anything.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Jae growled, posturing himself in a way that pushed his chest forward, arms flexed beside him as he towered over Changbin and Felix, “And I don’t like you being around my Felix so I think it’s best if you leave.”

“I’m not yours,” Felix bit back, “You can’t claim me anymore.”

“Are you trying to break up with me?” Jae scoffed, stalking closer to Felix until Changbin had to physically push between the two to prevent him from touching the younger, “Get out of my way, Felix is mine. I’ll do what I please to him.”

“You won’t be doing anything,” Changbin pushed him back, only managing to get him a foot away from Felix before Jae was forcing himself forwards again ,“Felix isn’t anyone’s, especially not yours. He knows you’ve been cheating on him, he saw the pictures of you with other people, he saw how you acted with our friend Hyunjin, and now he’s here to let you know he’s done with you.”

Jae froze, his eyes narrowing at Changbin. They were only a couple inches away from each other, Changbin could smell the alcohol on his breath, feel the intoxication against his nose as he exhaled into Changbin’s face. He may have dressed up, preparing for a night with Hyunjin and sexual fantasies, but even Changbin could see that the fancy clothes and cologne did nothing to mask the ugliness that Jae showed the rest of the world.

“So what?” Jae said, still staring down at Changbin, “You think just because you come to his rescue that it won’t happen again? You think you’re better than me?”

“He’s twice the man you ever were,” Felix said, reclaiming his spot in Changbin’s hand and raising their intertwined hands. He had to force himself not to focus on those words, not to repeat them in his head over and over again, “I won’t let this happen to me again because I'm breaking up with you, and I’ll never let myself be taken advantage of again.”

“Whether you leave me or not won’t change anything,” Jae snarled in retaliation, his eyes locked on their hands. Changbin could see the fire kindling, the spark of anger beginning to light, and Changbin could only hope he could get them out of there in time before the spark ignites, “You won’t satisfy him Felix, you won’t satisfy anyone. They’ll always be searching for what you can’t give them. You better get it out of your head that this prick is going to be your prince or whatever the hell you think he is. I’m as good as you’re going to get.”

“Changbin isn’t like you,” Felix pulled Changbin closer to him, cradling their hands close to this chest. He could feel Felix’s heart beat against his rib cage, and it sounded so much like his own. Frantic and sporadic, impossible to calm and full of nerves, “He’s kind, compassionate, and doesn’t lie to me. He’s been there for me when you hurt me, and went out of his way to save me from the ridiculous relationship I was trying to save. You’re a liar Jae, and you always will be.”

Changbin was stuck between relishing in the description Felix gave him and satisfaction over Jae’s pissed off expression. He was zoning in on the feeling of Felix’s skin against his own, in the breath brushing against his knuckles as Felix spoke, in the lack of blood flow to his fingers as Felix’s grip only got stronger. He was living his dream, hearing Felix talk about him like that, like he really knew him, like he wanted to be by his side, like he cherished their relationship, it was the happiest Changbin had been in a long time.

But then there was a fist pounding against his jaw, knocking him to the floor with the sound of cracking bones and a grunt from Changbin. Changbin stumbled back, catching himself before tumbling to the ground with Felix on track to come down with him. Felix gasped, pulling Changbin to face him and looking over his wound.

Changbin was smart enough to dodge the second fist, and was lucky enough to grab Felix before he wound up the next target. Changbin only nearly missed the limb that passed above his head, and was preparing to send a flying fist of his own, but then Felix was jumping into the fray just seconds after Changbin had pulled him to safety. He landed a rather loud kick to Jae’s stomach with a skillfully placed punch directly after.

Jae fell backwards onto his back and Changbin ran over to hold him down before he jumped back up and tried to murder either one of them. He struggled to grab hold of his arms, gaining another punch to the face in the process, but finally managed to pin him to the floor with curses being thrown at him left and right. As Felix approached him, he kicked out in a desperate attempt to break free of Changbin’s hold, but Felix ignored him.

“If you ever try to hurt me, Changbin, or any of my friends again. I will ruin you,” Felix’s deep voice sounded menacing, and even if Changbin had no idea what Felix meant by ‘ruin’ he already believed it to be terrifying. Felix kneeled down to Jae’s level, far enough to avoid being kicked but close enough to get his point across, “I have all the proof of your despicable actions at my fingertips. I will send the pictures of you kissing Jack to your mother, I will send the pictures of you kissing my coworker Jangmi to your father. I will publicly post the text messages to Hyunjin and make sure everyone is aware that you were a fraud of a boyfriend. I will out your infidelity to your friends and workplace, and don’t you ever think I won’t.”

Jae stilled under Changbins grasp. He was no longer looking at Felix in fury, but in fear. He had lost his fight so quickly, and now hearing the threat Felix had in his arsenal, it made sense. Felix could ruin his life, warn everyone to steer clear of Jae and his unfaithful love, and Jae knew it.

“Okay,” Jae relented, but Changbin refused to let go when he saw Felix still staring Jae down.

“Apologize.”

“For what?” Jay asked exasperly, trying to wave his hands but failing, “Sorry for cheating? Sorry for being a shitty boyfriend? What self deprecating or humiliating thing do you want me to say Felix?”

“I mean that’s a bonus,” Felix hummed, making eye contact with Changbin, “But I actually want you to apologize for punching Changbin. You went and marked up his face and that wasn’t very nice, it’s too cute for that kind of treatment.”

_Wait What?_

“Jesus Christ, _fine._ Sorry or whatever.”

_Did Felix just call him cute?_

“Say if for real you Asshole.”

_Him? As in Changbin? Cute?_

“I’m _so very sorry_. Now let me go.”

Changbin did, partially because it was safe to release him but also partially because he wasn’t sure he would have been capable of holding him back anymore if he tried. He was stunned, speechless as Felix stood to gather his things and pulled him up off the ground with him. He remained silent, watching as Felix threw another glare at Jae. He was frozen as Felix gave Jae one more warning, retrieving the door key card and turning to leave. 

But not before he took Changbin’s by the hand, leading the dark haired boy through the hallways. 

* * *

By the time they arrive back to Felix and Jeongin’s apartment, it had only been around an hour. The walk back was quiet, and Changbin was grateful fo rit because his mind just wouldn’t shut up. He couldn’t process shit, not the fight with Jae, not the hand holding, not the nice words Felix said about him, and certainly not the comment about him having a cute face.

_Felix really thought he was cute?_

Felix seemed content to walk in silence, letting their hands swing mindlessly between them. He had sent a quick message to Chan, letting him know things went fine but Changbin had a bit of a bruised face. Which then led to a series of texts from the other that Felix had yet to respond to. 

They didn’t speak until they were walking through the door and Jeongin shrieked at the sight of Changbin’s face.

“Hyung he’s bleeding!” Jeongin rushed off the couch, heading to the bathroom and returning with a first aid kit, “What did Jae do?!”

“It’s fine Innie,” Felix took the first aid kit from the boy, slowly guiding Changbin to the bedroom door Felix had gotten dressed in earlier, “Can you bring me an ice pack?”

Jeongin quickly agreed, leaving the two to enter Felix’s bedroom on their own.

Changbin had to say the bedroom matched Felix perfectly. It was nicely decorated, covered in posters, polaroids, albums, or other signage he probably picked up when he found them in the front of stores. The walls were painted a pale blue, matching the blue sweater he wore yesterday, and it really suited the room well.

When Jeongin returned with the ice pack, he was quickly shooed away by Felix. Leaving the two boys alone again.

“Alright Hyung, I gotta clean up the blood and then you can ice your face,” Felix pulled out an antiseptic wipe as he spoke, unfolding it and carefully wiping away the blood. It was all from his nose, so nothing particularly stung when he wiped away the blood, but the unexpected cold still made him jump.

“Ah, so you’re still alive,” Felix mumbled fondly, “You were practically catonic, I was afraid you weren’t gonna come back to life for awhile.”

Changbin wanted to reassure him, to laugh at his joke or make one of his own. He wanted to tell him he was proud of him for standing up to Jae, tell him he was happy he got to help. He wanted to say he was happy he was there, happy to have held his hand, happy to have been something to lean on.

But his brain and mouth never seemed to cooperate, because instead, he said, “You think I’m cute?”

“Uh,” Felix blinked, the red rapidly rising in his face. He dropped his hand, averting his gaze from Changbin, “Yeah. Sorry if that made you uncomfortable.”

“Are you kidding?” Made him uncomfortable? If only he knew just how much Felix made his heart flutter, how much Changbin had been pining over him, how much Changbin had loved him from afar, “I’ve been waiting to hear them for a long time. I think you’re beautiful.”

“What?” Felix shot back to Changbin, hope shining in his eyes, “You think… Are you saying?”

“I like you,” Changbin finally said it, after so much teasing from his friends, after so much endless pining, so much self doubt, he told Felix how he felt.

And Felix was smiling back at him, looking like the ray of sunshine he was, “I know it’s kind of soon but… I like you too. I think I have for a while.”

“Wow,” Changbin gasped, and he felt no fear as he pulled Felix into a hug that was quickly reciprocated, “I can’t believe this.”

“Me neither,” Felix’s laugh was muffled by Changbin’s clothes. It reminded him so much of Felix crying into his chest yesterday, but instead of tears he was releasing deep giggles. He didn’t pull back with red puffy eyes, he cuddled closer with a dimpled smile. They weren’t discussing Felix’s cheating boyfriend, they were confessing to each other and basking in the delight that came with it.

_“EW, ARE YOU GUYS MAKING OUT?”_

“JEONGIN, QUIT EAVESDROPPING INTO MY ROOM!”

* * *

**_Operation: Busted!_ **

**_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _Has anyone heard from Felix????_

 **_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _He disappeared after telling me Changbin got punched??_

 **_Jisung (Squirrel):_ ** _BINNIE GOT PUNCHED?????_

 **_Hyunjin (Llama):_ ** _OH SHIT IS HE GOOD_

 **_Jeongin (Cute):_ ** _Oh they’re very good_

 **_Jeongin (Cute):_ ** _More than good_

 **_Minho (Satan):_ ** _What the hell does that mean_

 **_Seungmin (Sub?):_ ** _Does that mean what I think it means?_

 **_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _Oh my god are they making out_

 **_Jeongin (Cute):_ ** _The fine for that information is one (1) decaf coffee_

 **_Minho (Satan):_ ** _You might be cute but I’m the one making the coffee and I will not hesitate to screw up your order if you don’t spill the tea_

 **_Jeongin (Cute):_ ** _Okay fine, they’re cuddling_

 **_Jeongin (Cute):_ ** _At least I think that’s all their doing_

 **_Jeongin (Cute):_ ** _It’s suspiciously quiet now_

 **_Jisung (Squirrel):_ ** _Go check_

 **_Chan (Felix’s Weird friend):_ ** _No no don’t go check_

 **_Jeongin (Cute):_ ** _I’m checking_

 **_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _Great, we scarred the child_

 **_Seungmin (Sub?):_ ** _When are you gonna realize Jeongin is anything but an innocent child_

 **_Minho (Satan):_ ** _It’s the cuteness, it’s deceiving_

_Jeongin is about to be beat by Felix_

**_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _BINNIE ARE YOU OKAY_

_Yeah just a little bruised_

_But I’m fine, and Felix is officially single_

**_Felix (Sunshine):_ ** _No I’m not???_

 **_Jisung (Squirrel):_ ** _Oh god no, please tell me you didn’t go back to the Asshole Boyfriend_

 **_Hyunjin (Llama:)_ ** _Felix, I love you, you’re cute, but PLEASE NO_

 **_Felix (Sunshine):_ ** _Oh no fuck Jae_

 **_Felix (Sunshine):_ ** _Let me introduce you to my new boyfriend_

 **_Felix (Sunshine):_ ** _His name is Seo Changbin, he held my hand today, called me beautiful, and got punched in the face in my honor_

_Worth it_

**_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _Oh my god finally_

 **_Minho (Satan):_ ** _I’m very happy for you guys but_

 **_Minho (Satan):_ ** _I still wanted to poison Jae_

 **_Felix (Sunshine):_ ** _I’m sure we’ll have the chance_

 **_Seungmin (Sub?):_ ** _How???_

_Felix has a plan to prevent Jae from screwing over anyone else in the future_

_And that plan is to sabotage all his future dates_

**_Felix (Sunshine):_ ** _In any and every way_

 **_Felix (Sunshine):_ ** _And when he inevitably does come back into your cafe, please poison him_

 **_Minho (Satan):_ ** _DECAF FOR THE BASTARD_

 **_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _I love you_

 **_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _This_

 **_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _THIS_

 **_Chan (Felix’s Weird Friend):_ ** _I LOVE THIS_

_Yeah okay_

**_Jisung (Squirrel):_ ** _Oh man_

 **_Hyunjin (Llama):_ ** _Here we go again_

**Author's Note:**

> This is the story of how I just wanted to write a short one shot and ended up with 25,000 words of this.
> 
> EDIT: So In this story I had a slight cameo of Woojin since I didn't want him in the main story as I wanted to respect the boys being an 8 member group now, but I figured since I was doing multiple cameos with different Kpop stars just for mentioned characters it would be kind of cool to add him in. But after finding out about his actions today I replaced him with the much beloved and amazing Ateez Leader, Kim Hongjoong. I don't condone Woojin's actions, hence why I removed him and I don't ever plan to write him in, as a main character or easter egg character, again. I stand with the victims and hope they are getting help from friends and family and can recover from that trauma. I also wish love to SKZ and hope no one directs any hate towards them, they aren't the offenders and have proven to be kind and genuine people. I love them all with all my heart and hope they can avoid any criticism and have an amazing comeback.
> 
> My Socials:  
> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/Reltic_)  
> [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/_reltic_/)


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